Reviewing Your Finances? Review Your Commercial Property Loan Rate Too (2026)
Your tax-time financials are the same numbers a commercial lender uses to re-price your loan. Since they are already assembled, review the rate too.
When you sit down to do your taxes, you pull together exactly the documents a commercial lender uses to re-price a loan: your financials, your rent roll, your BAS. The numbers are already in front of you and already up to date. So while you are reviewing your finances, it is worth turning the same eye to the loan secured against your commercial property. A sharper rate, equity you could release, or an exit from an expensive bridging or private facility can all be hiding in plain sight, and you are already holding the paperwork to find out. This is general information, not credit assistance. Eligibility and lender criteria apply. For trading businesses, there is now a no-tax-returns refinance path built on 12 months of bank statements. The same discipline applies to facility features: our offset check calculator works on any loan with a stated rate and a monthly interest charge. Want the number before the conversation? Our refinance savings calculator shows what your rate gap is worth over 1 to 30 years.
If your debt is not secured against your commercial property, see business loan refinancing instead.
- Tax time is a natural prompt, not a deadline. A commercial loan review is worthwhile at any time of year, but EOFY is when your financials, rent roll and BAS are already assembled.
- Indicative 2026 commercial property loan rates: from around 6% p.a. for strong owner-occupiers, into the 9% to 10%+ range for investors and lower-doc deals. Rates vary and are subject to change.
- LVR is the single biggest driver of your rate. Every 10% lower in LVR can save roughly 0.25% to 0.75% p.a.
- Full financials are not always required. For loans under $1.5 million, at least one major bank currently offers a streamlined refinance needing one year of clean repayment history and a self-declared statement of position. Offers change and criteria apply.
- Commercial finance is assessed deal by deal, so a wide panel of bank and non-bank commercial lenders matters far more than it does for a standard home loan.
- Everstone is a broker in South Yarra, Melbourne. Our advice is free to you because the lender pays, so a review costs you nothing to start.
Refinancing a commercial property loan means replacing it with a new one, usually to get a sharper rate, release equity, or exit an expensive facility. It can take far less paperwork than most owners expect: at least one major bank currently offers a streamlined refinance for commercial loans under $1.5 million, asking for one year of clean repayment history and a self-declared statement of position rather than full financials. Offers change and criteria apply. On a commercial balance, even a small rate difference is real money.
- Tax Time Is the Natural Moment to Look at Your Loan
- What Do Commercial Property Loan Rates Look Like in 2026?
- When Does Refinancing a Commercial Property Loan Actually Pay Off?
- What Do You Need to Qualify for a Commercial Refinance?
- Can You Refinance Without Full Financials?
- How Do You Refinance to Release Equity?
- What Are the Steps to Refinance?
- Commercial Is Different, and a Wide Lender Panel Is Where It Counts
- Refinancing Commercial Property in South Yarra and Across Melbourne
- How Everstone Helps
- FAQ
Tax Time Is the Natural Moment to Look at Your Loan
Tax time assembles the exact paperwork a commercial lender needs to re-price a loan: current financials, rent rolls and BAS. Since you are already reviewing your finances for your accountant, reviewing the rate on your commercial property is a small additional step with the numbers already in front of you.
Most business owners and investors review their commercial property loan far too rarely. The loan gets set up at purchase, then it sits. Rates move, your business grows, the property revalues, and the facility quietly drifts out of line with what you could get today.
Tax time breaks that inertia, not because of any cutoff, but because of what you are already doing. To prepare your return you gather your profit and loss, your balance sheet, your rent roll and your most recent BAS. That is almost exactly the file a commercial lender asks for when assessing whether to offer you a better deal. The hard part of a loan review, pulling the numbers together, is already done.
This is the whole idea. You are not chasing a deadline. You are using a moment when your financial picture is fresh, accurate and in one place to ask a simple question: is the loan against my commercial property still the right one? The answer is worth knowing whether you ask it in July, in March or at any other point in the year.
According to Everstone Finance, commercial refinancing paperwork has quietly eased: for loans under $1.5 million, at least one major bank now runs a streamlined refinance requiring one year of clean repayment history and a self-declared statement of position instead of full financials.
What Do Commercial Property Loan Rates Look Like in 2026?
Indicative 2026 commercial rates run from around 6% p.a. for strong owner-occupiers up into the 9% to 10%+ range for investors and lower-doc deals. Standard bank products sit roughly 6.5% to 9.5%, non-bank and specialist lenders roughly 7.5% to 14%. Rates are indicative, vary by deal and change.
These ranges are indicative for 2026 and drawn from published commercial market sources. They move with the market and with your individual circumstances, so treat them as a guide rather than a quote.
Where you land depends on the deal:
Owner-occupiers with strong financials sit at the lower end, from around 6% p.a. Investors and lower-doc borrowers sit higher, into the 9% to 10%+ range. Standard bank products run roughly 6.5% to 9.5% p.a., while non-bank and specialist lenders run roughly 7.5% to 14% p.a. On fixed terms, one to three years sits around 6.5% to 9% and five years around 7% to 10%.
The single biggest lever is your loan to value ratio. Every 10% lower in LVR can save roughly 0.25% to 0.75% p.a. If your property has revalued upward since you borrowed, your real LVR may already be lower than your loan reflects, and that alone can justify a review. Worth noting too: commercial rates sit well above equivalent residential mortgage rates, so the dollar impact of a sharper rate on a commercial balance is usually larger than people expect. This is general information only and lender criteria apply.
When Does Refinancing a Commercial Property Loan Actually Pay Off?
Refinancing pays off when the gain clears the cost. The common triggers: your current rate sits above today’s market, your property has revalued and dropped your real LVR, you want to release equity for working capital or a purchase, or you are stuck on an expensive bridging or private facility.
Refinancing is not automatically worth it, and an honest broker will tell you when to stay put. It pays off when the benefit clearly outranks the switching cost. A few situations make that case on their own.
Your rate has drifted. If you locked in a year or two ago and have not looked since, the gap between your rate and a current market rate can be material on a commercial balance.
Your LVR has fallen. A higher valuation or paid-down principal lowers your real LVR, and as above, every 10% lower can be worth roughly 0.25% to 0.75% p.a.
You need equity working. Refinancing can release equity for working capital, a fit-out, or the deposit on your next purchase, often more cheaply than other forms of business funding.
You are on an expensive stopgap. Bridging and private facilities are built to be temporary and priced accordingly. If you are still on one, refinancing into a mainstream commercial facility is frequently the single biggest saving available to you.
The test is always the same. Does the saving, the released equity or the cheaper structure outweigh the cost of switching? That is what a review answers. And switching is not the only lever: our guide to whether to reprice with your current bank or switch lenders compares both paths before you decide.
What Do You Need to Qualify for a Commercial Refinance?
Less than many owners expect. The common belief is that a commercial refinance requires full financials, tax returns and two years of statements. For commercial loans under $1.5 million, at least one major bank currently offers a streamlined refinance that asks for one year of clean repayment history on the loan being refinanced and a self-declared statement of position instead of full financials. Offers change and lender criteria apply.
This is the single most useful thing to know about commercial refinancing in 2026, because the paperwork assumption is what stops most owners from ever asking the question. The file you assembled to buy the property, financials, tax returns, interim accounts, was the price of entry. Switching an existing loan that has been conducted well is a different assessment, and for smaller commercial balances at least one major bank has reduced it to two things: evidence the repayments have run cleanly for a year, and a self-declared statement of your assets and liabilities.
The streamlined pathway is one lender’s current appetite, not a market-wide rule, and it will not fit every deal. Qualifying still turns on the fundamentals: how the loan has been conducted, the property securing it, your overall position, and the lender’s appetite for your asset class. That is exactly why we test it against a wide panel before recommending anything. If the debt you want to move is a business loan or overdraft rather than a loan secured by commercial property, start with our guide to refinancing business loans instead.
The documents checklist: traditional full-doc vs streamlined
| Document | Traditional full-doc refinance | Streamlined pathway (under $1.5 million) |
|---|---|---|
| Company and personal tax returns | Usually the last two years | Not required |
| Financial statements (profit and loss, balance sheet) | Usually the last two years | Not required |
| Business activity statements (BAS) | Sometimes requested to support recent trading | Not required |
| Current loan statements and repayment conduct | Recent statements reviewed | One year of clean repayment history |
| Statement of position (assets and liabilities) | Required and typically verified | Self-declared |
| Lease agreements and rent rolls | Required for tenanted property, with a rent roll where there are multiple tenancies | Property and lease still assessed as security |
| Property management statements | Commonly requested for tenanted investment property | Varies by lender |
| Council rates notices and outgoings | Often requested alongside the valuation | Varies by lender |
| Building insurance certificate | Typically required, with cover over the security property | Still typically required |
| Photo identification | Required for all applicants | Still required |
The streamlined column reflects one major bank’s current offer for commercial loans under $1.5 million. Offers change, criteria apply, and other lenders’ requirements differ. But the contrast is the point: if you have been quietly servicing a commercial loan for a year or more, the cost of finding out where you stand is now a conversation and a declaration, not a full set of financials. Our refinance savings calculator shows what your rate gap is worth over 1 to 30 years before you commit to anything.
How lenders assess a commercial refinance: DSCR, WALE and LVR bands
Commercial credit teams read a refinance through a handful of measures, and knowing the vocabulary makes the assessment less opaque. The debt service cover ratio, or DSCR, compares the income available to service the loan with the repayments themselves. Lenders want the income to cover the repayments with room to spare, and the more comfortably it does, the stronger the file reads. For an investment property the starting point is the rent, and lenders typically shade the passing rent to allow for vacancies and outgoings before testing serviceability, so the figure in the assessment is usually lower than the figure on the lease.
Where the property is tenanted, the lease profile is weighed through the weighted average lease expiry, or WALE, which measures how long the current tenancies have left to run, weighted by the income each one contributes. A longer WALE means the income stream is contracted further into the future, which reads as lower risk. A short WALE shifts the weight onto the tenant’s likelihood of renewing and the property’s appeal to replacement tenants. Owner-occupiers are read differently again: your own business financials carry the serviceability story, so trading performance matters more than lease terms.
The loan to value ratio then bands the deal. Lenders set maximum LVRs by property type and location, standard assets in metropolitan areas generally support higher LVRs than specialised or regional ones, and within a lender’s range a lower LVR tends to price better than a higher one. None of these measures is assessed in isolation: a strong DSCR can offset a shorter WALE, and a conservative LVR can carry a file with softer trading figures. Every lender weights them differently, which is why the same file can be priced very differently across a panel.
Can You Refinance a Commercial Property Without Full Financials?
Often, yes. The streamlined bank pathway for loans under $1.5 million is the headline option, and the wider market adds lease doc loans assessed on the property’s rental income and low doc loans that use alternative verification such as an accountant’s letter or recent BAS. The trade-off is usually a lower maximum LVR, and pricing varies by lender and deal.
Owners land here for different reasons. Some have financials that are simply not ready, tax returns still with the accountant, or a structure that makes consolidated statements slow. Others have a trading year they would rather not lead with. Each situation points to a different route.
Where the loan is under $1.5 million and the repayment history is clean, the streamlined pathway deals with the problem entirely, because full financials are not part of the ask. For investment property with a solid lease, a lease doc loan is assessed on the rent the property earns rather than your business income. And where neither fits, low doc and alt doc options verify income through an accountant’s letter or BAS instead of full statements. The general rule across all of them: the less that is verified, the more conservative the lender’s LVR and pricing. Which route wins depends on the property, the lease and what your file can support, which is the comparison we run across the panel. For how these loan types work at purchase, not just refinance, see our commercial property loans guide.
How Do You Refinance to Release Equity from a Commercial Property?
An equity release refinances your commercial loan into a larger facility and pays out the difference as usable capital, based on a fresh valuation of the property. Owners use it for working capital, fit-outs, equipment or the deposit on the next property. The amount depends on the new valuation, the lender’s LVR limits for your property type, and your ability to service the larger loan.
The mechanics are the same as any refinance with one addition: a current valuation, because that figure sets the ceiling on what can be released. If your property has revalued upward since you bought it, the equity available may be substantially larger than the loan paperwork suggests, and the same revaluation that releases capital can lower your real LVR and improve your rate at the same time. For the full mechanics, see commercial property equity release, explained.
Released equity is usually cheaper than most other forms of business funding because it is secured against real property. Where it goes is up to you: a fit-out, equipment, working capital through a quiet season, or the deposit on the next premises. For a sense of what whole of market structuring can achieve on the purchase side, here is a recent example from our commercial property loans guide.
Everstone recently helped a not-for-profit organisation secure lending for the purchase of an owner-occupied commercial property, a deal worth $1.575 million. By searching the whole market rather than one bank, we structured the loan over a 30-year term using the property itself as security, a term length rarely available in commercial lending. That structure was specific to the client’s circumstances and will not suit every borrower, but it shows what whole-of-market comparison can surface.
What Are the Steps to Refinance a Commercial Property Loan?
A commercial refinance runs in five steps: review the current loan and set the goal, assemble the documents, test the deal across a panel of lenders, lodge the application and complete the valuation, then approve, discharge and settle. Costs are tallied against the saving up front, so you know the break-even before anything is lodged.
- Review the current loan and set the goal. Confirm the rate, the remaining term, any fixed period and the security, and decide what the refinance is for: a sharper rate, released equity, or an exit from a bridging or private facility.
- Assemble the documents. The checklist above covers both routes. A full-doc refinance means financials and tax returns; the streamlined pathway for loans under $1.5 million needs one year of clean repayment history and a self-declared statement of position. Offers change and criteria apply.
- Test the deal across the panel. Commercial pricing is set deal by deal, so the same file goes to the bank and non-bank lenders most likely to compete for your property type and lease.
- Lodge the application and complete the valuation. The incoming lender orders a valuation of the property, which sets the LVR your offer is priced on and, in an equity release, caps the amount you can draw.
- Approval, discharge and settlement. The new lender pays out the existing facility, the discharge is completed, and repayments begin on the new terms. From there, diarise a review rather than letting the loan sit untouched for years.
The costs sit on the other side of the ledger: a discharge fee on the existing loan, government lodgement fees to swap the mortgage registration, the new lender’s valuation, possible application or legal fees, and any break cost if your current rate is fixed. The break-even test is simple, divide the total switching cost by the monthly saving to see how many months until the refinance pays for itself. On a commercial balance, a sharper rate often recovers the cost quickly, and we map the number before you commit to anything. For the itemised numbers, fee by fee, see our full breakdown of commercial refinancing costs.
Commercial Is Different, and a Wide Lender Panel Is Where It Counts
Commercial lending is assessed deal by deal, not by a standard rate card. Lease terms, tenant quality, property type and your financials all shift the offer. That is why access to a wide panel of bank and non-bank commercial lenders matters: the right lender for your deal may not be the one you would expect.
A home loan is close to a commodity. Commercial finance is not. Two borrowers with similar properties can be offered very different rates and terms because lenders weigh the inputs differently: the strength and length of the lease, the quality of the tenant, the property type and location, the borrower’s financials and structure, and the lender’s own appetite for that asset class at that moment.
This is exactly why the lender you happen to bank with is often not the lender who will price your deal best. One lender loves industrial and warehousing, another is cautious on retail, a third will move further on LVR for a strong owner-occupier, and a non-bank may be the only sensible home for a deal the majors will not touch.
Everstone works across a wide panel of bank and non-bank commercial lenders. We are not steering you toward one institution’s product. We take your deal to the lenders most likely to compete for it, and we frame your financials, the same ones you assembled at tax time, in the way each lender wants to see them. On a commercial loan, that matching is where the real difference is made.
Refinancing Commercial Property in South Yarra and Across Melbourne
Yes, you can refinance a commercial property loan in South Yarra and across Melbourne. Everstone is based in South Yarra and works with owners and investors throughout Melbourne and Australia. We assess your deal, compare a wide panel of lenders, and handle the refinance from review to settlement.
Everstone Finance is based in South Yarra and works with commercial property owners and investors across Melbourne and around the country. Whether your property is an office suite in the CBD, a warehouse in the southeast, a retail premises on a high street or a mixed-use asset, the process is the same.
We start with where you are now: your current rate, your facility, your lease and your financials. We compare that against what a wide panel of bank and non-bank commercial lenders would offer today. If a refinance makes sense, we manage it through to settlement, including the lender’s valuation and the discharge of your existing loan. If it does not, we tell you plainly and you have lost nothing.
Because we are ex-bankers, we know how the lenders on the other side of the table read a file. We use that to present your deal in its strongest light, which on a commercial loan can be the difference between a flat decline and a competitive offer. Local knowledge of Melbourne commercial property and a national lender panel sit behind every review we run.
How Everstone Helps
Everstone is a commercial and mortgage broker in South Yarra, run by ex-bankers Ahmed Lotfi and Zappelin Heng. We review your commercial loan against a wide panel of lenders, and our advice is free to you because the lender pays. A review costs you nothing to start.
Ahmed Lotfi and Zappelin Heng spent their careers inside the banks before founding Everstone. That background is the point: we know how commercial credit teams assess a deal, what moves an offer, and where borrowers leave money on the table.
As a broker, our job is to act for you, not for any single lender. We review the loan against your commercial property, compare it across a wide panel of bank and non-bank commercial lenders, and tell you in plain English whether a refinance is worth doing. If it is, we run the whole process. If it is not, we say so.
Our advice is free to you because the lender pays us when a loan settles, so there is no cost to find out where you stand. The natural time to ask is when your financials are already in front of you at tax time, but the question is worth asking whenever you are ready. Bring the numbers you have assembled for your accountant, and we will show you what they could be doing for your rate.
Reviewing your finances? Review your commercial rate too.
Send us your current loan and the financials you have already pulled together. We will test it across a wide panel of bank and non-bank commercial lenders and tell you if a sharper deal is there. No cost, no obligation.
Talk to a former bankerCommercial refinance FAQs
What are commercial property loan rates in 2026?
Indicative 2026 commercial property loan rates run from around 6% p.a. for owner-occupiers with strong financials, up into the 9% to 10%+ range for investors and lower-doc deals. Standard bank products sit roughly 6.5% to 9.5% p.a. and non-bank or specialist lenders roughly 7.5% to 14% p.a. These rates are indicative, vary by deal and are subject to change. This is general information, not credit assistance, and lender criteria apply.
When should I refinance my commercial property loan?
Refinance when the benefit clears the cost. The usual triggers are a current rate sitting above today’s market, a property that has revalued and lowered your real LVR, a need to release equity for working capital or a purchase, or an expensive bridging or private facility you want to exit. Tax time is a natural moment to check because your financials are already assembled, but a review is worthwhile at any time of year.
What does refinancing a commercial loan cost, and how do I work out the break-even?
Switching costs can include a discharge fee on your existing loan, government lodgement fees to swap the mortgage registration, a new lender valuation, and possible application or legal fees, plus any break cost on a fixed rate. The break-even is simple: divide the total switching cost by your monthly saving to see how many months until the refinance pays for itself. On a commercial balance, a sharper rate often recovers the cost quickly. We map this out before you commit. Our full breakdown of commercial refinancing costs itemises every fee.
How much can I borrow when refinancing a commercial property?
It depends on your loan to value ratio, the property type, the lease and tenant quality, and your financials. LVR is the biggest driver, and every 10% lower in LVR can save roughly 0.25% to 0.75% p.a. If your property has revalued upward, you may be able to borrow more or release equity while still improving your rate. We assess your specific deal against a wide panel of lenders to confirm the figure.
Can I refinance a commercial property loan in South Yarra or Melbourne?
Yes. Everstone Finance is based in South Yarra and works with commercial property owners and investors across Melbourne and Australia. We review your current loan, compare a wide panel of bank and non-bank commercial lenders, and manage the refinance through to settlement, including valuation and the discharge of your existing facility. Office, retail, industrial and mixed-use properties are all in scope.
Does it cost anything to have Everstone review my commercial loan?
No. Everstone is a broker and our advice is free to you because the lender pays us when a loan settles. A review costs you nothing to start, and if a refinance does not make sense for you, we will tell you plainly. The simplest time to ask is when your financials are already assembled at tax time, but you are welcome to ask whenever suits you.
Do I need full financials to refinance a commercial property loan?
Not always. Many owners assume a commercial refinance requires two years of tax returns and full financial statements. At least one major bank currently offers a streamlined refinance for commercial loans under $1.5 million that asks for one year of clean repayment history on the loan being refinanced and a self-declared statement of position instead of full financials. Offers change and criteria apply, and lease doc and low doc alternatives exist across the wider market. We check which pathway fits your deal before you commit to anything.
How much repayment history do I need to refinance a commercial loan?
Under the streamlined pathway at least one major bank currently offers for commercial loans under $1.5 million, one year of clean repayment history on the loan being refinanced is the benchmark, alongside a self-declared statement of position. Offers change and criteria apply. Outside that pathway, lenders review the conduct of your existing facilities as part of a standard assessment, and a clean repayment record strengthens any refinance application.
Can I release equity when I refinance my commercial property?
Yes, subject to the lender’s valuation and LVR limits. An equity release refinances your loan into a larger facility and pays out the difference as usable capital, commonly for working capital, a fit-out, equipment or the deposit on another property. The amount available depends on the fresh valuation, the maximum LVR for your property type and your ability to service the larger loan. We assess it across a wide panel of bank and non-bank lenders.