Bridging loan interest rates in Australia, and what actually sets yours

The honest answer to “what is the bridging loan interest rate?” is a range, not a number. Indicative rates run roughly 6% to 12% per annum on bank and near-bank bridging, and roughly 9% to 16% per annum (or a monthly rate) on private and caveat-style bridging. Where your deal lands inside that range depends on four things you can largely control: your exit, your LVR, your security, and how fast you need the money.

Windsor Finance is a finance broker, not a lender. We hold no capital of our own and approve nothing. We take your deal to a panel of Australian bank and non-bank bridging lenders, then place it with the one offering the best structure for your timeline and your numbers. That is how you reach the cheaper end of the range instead of accepting whatever one bank happens to quote.

Every figure on this page is indicative. The lender confirms the final rate on application, once it sees the security and your file.

Bridging is short-term money. The rate reflects the speed and flexibility it buys, not a 30-year hold. Bank and near-bank bridging runs roughly 6% to 12% per annum, cheapest where the LVR is low, the security is standard, and the exit is a signed sale contract or confirmed refinance. Private and caveat-style bridging runs roughly 9% to 16% per annum, or is priced as a monthly rate; it is faster and more flexible money, and it costs more for that reason, settling where a bank cannot move in time. Two facilities can carry very different rates on the same property. A clean exit and a 60% LVR sit at the bottom of the range. An unusual security, a tight deadline, and a 75% LVR sit nearer the top. The product is the same. The pricing follows the risk and the speed.

Lenders price bridging on the deal in front of them, and four levers do most of the work. Your exit is the single biggest factor, a bridging loan clears through a sale completing, a refinance to a longer-term facility, or another asset maturing, and a signed unconditional sale contract prices better than a property still listed and unsold. Your LVR matters next: lower loan-to-value means less risk and a lower rate, with bridging running up to around 75% of value on standard security; drop to 60% and the rate usually drops with it. Your security shapes the lender pool, standard metropolitan residential or commercial property prices well, while regional, rural-zoned, specialised or non-standard security narrows the pool and lifts the rate. Your speed is the last lever: money you need in three business days costs more than money you need in three weeks, and private and caveat bridging is built for days.

Read a bridging rate as an annual figure and it can look steep. Read it over the actual term and the picture changes, because you rarely hold the loan for a full year. Bridging terms typically run 6 to 12 months, with some private facilities extending to 24 months. Hold a facility for three months and you pay roughly a quarter of the annual rate, not the whole year. So a 12% per annum bridging loan held for three months costs about 3% of the balance over that period, before fees. The number that matters is the total cost over the months you actually hold the loan, set against the alternative. Losing a deposit, losing the property, or selling your existing place below market to settle on time usually costs far more than the bridging interest.

The interest rate is not the whole cost. Bridging facilities carry lender and third-party fees, all paid to the lender or provider rather than to Windsor: an establishment or application fee (often a percentage of the loan or a flat fee, sometimes capitalised into the advance), a valuation fee for the security valuation, legal and settlement costs (the lender’s legal costs plus your own conveyancing), and sometimes a discharge or exit fee on payout. When you compare two bridging quotes, compare the total cost over your term, including fees, not just the headline rate. A lower rate with a heavier establishment fee can cost more on a short hold than a slightly higher rate with no upfront fee. We lay out the full cost in writing before you commit, including how Windsor is paid.

Walking into your own bank gets you one bridging product and one set of rules. A broker checks the whole panel at once: one enquiry reaches banks, near-banks, non-bank lenders, and private credit funds, so you see the cheapest structure that actually works for your timeline rather than the only one your bank sells. We hold no balance sheet, so there is no product to push. The recommendation follows your deal. We also package the file so the lender’s credit team sees a clean, complete case the first time, which matters for rate as well as speed. Placed correctly the first time, your deal reaches the lender most likely to price it keenly. For the full picture on the product, see bridging loans in Australia.