Commercial Loan Products: What Every CRE Broker Should Know in 2025

If you’re brokering commercial real estate loans, knowing your product options isn’t optional. You don’t need to be an underwriter — but you do need to know which loan types actually fit which deals, how lenders think about them, and where brokers tend to waste time chasing the wrong paper.

This guide gives you a broker-first breakdown of the key CRE loan products out there. It’s not borrower fluff, and it’s not a lender sales pitch. Just practical insights on which loans to use, when, and why — with links to deeper guides for when you need them.

Product Types by Use Case

Some loans are built for speed. Others are designed for long-term stability. As a broker, part of your job is knowing which loan types align with your client’s goals, timeline, and property type.

Here’s a breakdown of common situations and the loan types that typically match — with more detail in the linked guides if one sounds like a fit.

• Acquisition: Bridge loans are common for tight timelines or unstabilized assets. Permanent loans work if the property is turnkey. SBA loans and CMBS can work depending on borrower type.
• Refinance: Permanent loans are the go-to if the property is stabilized. Agency or HUD/FHA programs can offer nonrecourse, long-term debt. CMBS works if high leverage is needed.
• Construction: Ground-up projects often require either construction-specific loans or government-backed options like HUD 221(d)(4) or SBA 504.
• Value-add: If the plan is to renovate or reposition, mezzanine, hard money, or PACE financing can bridge the gap before permanent debt.
• Owner-occupied: SBA 7(a) and 504 loans are designed for owner-users looking to buy or build commercial space.
• Stabilized vs. transitional: LifeCos and agencies want clean, in-place income. Bridge or debt funds are more flexible for transitional or heavy-lift plays.

Each of these paths demands a different set of loan characteristics — speed, flexibility, leverage, or long-term cost efficiency. demands a different set of loan characteristics — speed, flexibility, leverage, or long-term cost efficiency.

Product Types by Source of Capital

Loan structure and process often depends on where the money’s coming from. As a broker, you’ll encounter all kinds of capital sources — each with its own quirks, benefits, and restrictions. Here's how to think about them.

• Banks & Credit Unions: Go-to for smaller, relationship-based deals. They tend to prefer lower leverage and full recourse. Great for local investors with clean financials.
• Agency (Fannie, Freddie) and HUD: These are designed for stabilized multifamily — and they come with great pricing and long-term terms. But be prepared for strict underwriting. See Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And HUD loans, while far and away having the best terms, can take an age to close.
• CMBS: Works for higher leverage and unique properties, especially when borrower experience or liquidity is strong but flexibility isn’t required. Nonrecourse, but rigid. See CMBS loans.
• Debt Funds & REITs: When speed, flexibility, or complexity is required — especially for transitional assets — this capital is often the best fit. But it’s usually more expensive.
• Life Companies: Best for clean, low-leverage, long-term stabilized deals. Think institutional borrowers and trophy assets. Hard to place with, but rewarding when it fits.
• SBA: Ideal for owner-occupied real estate, especially small businesses looking to buy or build their space. See SBA 7(a) and 504 loans.
• USDA 538: Designed for rural multifamily housing. A niche program, but very useful when it fits.
• Specialty Lenders: Includes hard money, fintech, and PACE financing. These can work when other routes hit a wall — though some can be high risk, fast-moving, often high-interest.

Knowing which capital sources align with your deal's size, borrower profile, and property type will save you time and credibility.

How Brokers Match Deals to Loan Types

Matching a deal to the right loan isn’t just about LTV and rate. It’s about:

• Property type: Different asset classes lean toward different capital sources
• Borrower profile: Experience, liquidity, creditworthiness
• Deal urgency: Some lenders take 90 days. Others can close in 3 weeks
• Business plan: Buy and hold? Stabilize and refi? Ground-up construction?
• Loan size: A $1.2M retail deal won’t land at a LifeCo

Example: An experienced sponsor buying a $3.5M stabilized multifamily deal probably isn’t a bridge loan candidate — but a Freddie SBL execution might be ideal.

Common Broker Pitfalls to Avoid

• Overpromising on rate: Every borrower wants sub-6%. Doesn’t mean they’ll get it
• Misjudging recourse: Know which lenders will require it — and when
• Submitting too broadly: Spray-and-pray wastes everyone’s time
• Ignoring timing constraints: A 60-day lender doesn’t help your client in contract with a 30-day close
• Confusing lender appetite with borrower qualification: Just because a lender can fund a deal doesn’t mean they will — or that your borrower clears the bar

Loan Product Index (A–Z)

Click through for detailed, broker-specific breakdowns:

• Bridge Loans: What Brokers Need to Watch Out For
• CMBS Loans: A Broker’s Guide
• Construction Loans: Structuring Deals That Actually Close
• DSCR Loans: How and When to Use Them
• Fannie Mae Multifamily: What Brokers Should Know
• Freddie Mac Multifamily: Navigating Conventional and Optigo
• Hard Money Loans: When Speed Matters Most
• HUD/FHA Loans: 223(f), 221(d)(4), and More
• LifeCo Loans: Great Pricing (If You Can Get In)
• Mezzanine & Preferred Equity: Filling the Gap
• PACE Financing: What It Is and Where It Works
• Permanent Loans: Long-Term Debt for Stabilized Properties
• SBA 7(a) and 504: The Broker’s Guide to Owner-User Deals
• USDA Loans: Rural, But Real

This guide will keep growing. Bookmark it, reference it, and dive deeper whenever a deal crosses your desk that feels a little bit outside your usual lane.