Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis Apartment Loans in 2026
From the Mississippi riverfront out to Hickory Hill and Whitehaven, Memphis apartment loans begin at our $1,500,000 minimum and can run to 80% LTV, with pricing from 6.12% for well-occupied, stabilized buildings. Each Memphis file is shown to banks, HUD, conduit desks, bridge funds and both agencies before we recommend any of them, and you get every lender's written terms, with no application or processing fees. Program-by-program pricing sits on our commercial mortgage rates page. Big complexes move to Memphis multifamily loans, while buildings in other Tennessee cities go to Tennessee apartment loans.
Get a Free QuoteFreight, Health Care and a Flat Year for Memphis Hiring
The Memphis metro, which reaches into Mississippi and Arkansas, held 657,400 nonfarm payroll jobs in September 2026 by BLS's preliminary, not seasonally adjusted count, 0.2% above September 2025. Trade, transportation and utilities, with 190,100 jobs or nearly 29% of the total, grew 1.0% and education and health services 1.2%, while professional and business services fell 2.9%. HUD's latest analysis for the metro, dated June 1, 2024, called the apartment market soft, with vacancy rising to 13.8% in early 2024 as new units added since 2022 outpaced demand. The Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate for the city itself is 609,647 people, against 628,510 at the April 2020 base, and 44.9% of occupied homes were owner-occupied in 2020 through 2024.
Softer Memphis Rents, Freight Payrolls and the St. Jude and xAI Projects
In its October 2026 report, Apartment List shows a $1,065 citywide median, 1.0% under last year's level; a one-bedroom goes for a median $889 and a two-bedroom $1,008. On September 30, 2026, RentCafe's citywide average rent, which draws on every Memphis building of 50-plus units, was $1,141, a 0.28% annual decline from $1,144.
HUD's 2024 roster of large metro employers, drawn from the Memphis Business Journal, starts with FedEx at about 35,000 workers, followed by the federal government (16,100), state government (14,200) and Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare (11,450). The same report calls Memphis International one of the world's busiest cargo airports and says St. Jude's $1.5 billion expansion, its largest ever, should add more than 1,000 jobs by early 2027. As of January 2026, xAI ran both of its Colossus supercomputers in Memphis. For a Memphis apartment loan, we map these payrolls against the building's location.
Memphis Apartment Loan Rates
Rates updated as of November 4, 2026
Figures in the table assume a stabilized Memphis building. With 48% of the city's homes built before 1970, expect the property condition report and the post-2025 tax bill to shape the final quote.
| Loan Type | Rate* | Max LTV |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Year Fixed | 6.52% | Up to 80% |
| 7 Year Fixed | 6.55% | Up to 80% |
| 10 Year Fixed | 6.59% | Up to 80% |
- Cash-out refinances are acceptable
- Interest-only and non-recourse options
- Minimum 1.25x debt-service-coverage ratio
See Memphis Multifamily Rates Over $6 Million, Starting at 6.12%
Rates last updated November 4, 2026. Rates and maximum LTV shown represent our best-case pricing scenarios. Actual rates, LTV, and loan terms are subject to underwriting approval and may vary.
Memphis Lending Areas, With Rent and Vacancy Readings
RentCafe's September 2026 averages include $1,572 in Binghampton, $1,494 in Normal Station and $1,417 Downtown, against $699 in Orange Mound, the lowest on its Memphis list. HUD's 2024 analysis gave the Frayser/Raleigh market area the highest vacancy rate among the metro's market areas, 23.5% in early 2024. At 46 feet on the Memphis river gauge, the Weather Service says Riverside Drive at Beale Street floods and Tom Lee Park begins to flood. City limits need checking too: South Cordova returned to unincorporated Shelby County on January 1, 2021.
We lend in these neighborhoods inside the city; Germantown, Bartlett and Collierville are separate municipalities:
- Downtown
- Uptown
- Medical District
- Midtown
- Cooper-Young
- Central Gardens
- Vollintine-Evergreen
- Binghampton
- Normal Station
- Orange Mound
- East Memphis
- Harbor Town
- Berclair
- Raleigh
- Frayser
- Whitehaven
- South Memphis
- Hickory Hill
Memphis Apartment Loan Programs, Lender by Lender
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD, bank and bridge lenders read a building's age and occupancy differently, so Memphis apartment loans are priced across all five:
| Program | Typical rate* | Max leverage | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fannie Mae Small Loan | 6.52% | Up to 80% | Non-recourse, fixed to 30 yrs |
| Freddie Mac SBL | 6.60% | Up to 80% | $2M to $10M small balance |
| FHA / HUD | 6.74% | Up to 85% | Highest leverage, longest term |
| Bank / portfolio | 6.50% | Up to 75% | Flexible, value-add |
| Bridge | 9.00% | Up to 80% LTC | Reposition, lease-up |
In Memphis, lenders measure the customary 1.25x coverage minimum after a tax line that reflects Tennessee's 40% assessment on dwellings with two or more rental units. Bigger loans go to Memphis multifamily loans.
Rates last updated November 4, 2026. Rates and maximum LTV shown represent our best-case pricing scenarios. Actual rates, LTV, and loan terms are subject to underwriting approval and may vary.
Preemption, the 40% Ratio, Trustee Sales and River Stages in Memphis
Rents are a state question. Tennessee Code 66-35-102 bars counties and cities from any ordinance or resolution that would cap what landlords charge for private residential or commercial leases, and it outlaws mandatory below-market set-asides, though purely voluntary incentives stay legal. The landlord-tenant act, covering Shelby and other counties above 75,000 people in the 2010 census, "occupies and preempts the entire field" there, and MLK50 reported in 2022 that a 2021 state law made the city's planned rental registry and licensing program "collateral damage."
Apartments are taxed as commercial property. Tennessee Code 67-5-501 classifies real property used for dwelling purposes with two or more rental units as industrial and commercial, and 67-5-801 assesses that class at 40% of value, against 25% for residential. Shelby County reappraises every four years (last in 2025, next in 2029). For 2025 the city levied $2.58081 on each $100 of assessed value and the county's fiscal 2026 rate was $2.69, together about 2.11% of value a year on a commercial-class building; for fiscal 2027 the county moved to roughly $2.70, and the city budget carried no property tax increase.
Two bills, two calendars. City bills go delinquent after August 31, while county taxes come due the first Monday in October and can be paid through the last day of February without added fees.
Transfer and mortgage taxes. Tennessee Code 67-4-409 charges the grantee 37 cents for every $100 of the consideration or value, whichever is greater. Recording a deed of trust adds 11.5 cents on every $100 borrowed beyond the first $2,000, with the incidence on the mortgagor or debtor: about $1,723 on a $1,500,000 loan.
Trustee sales and redemption. Land can be sold under a deed of trust without a judicial decree. Section 35-5-101, last amended in 2025, calls for at least two notices in a newspaper published in the county, the first one published 20-plus days before the sale, plus 20 continuous days of online posting by a third-party company. Section 66-8-101 gives two years to redeem unless the deed of trust expressly waives that right.
River, faults and storms. The Mississippi at Memphis set its record of 48.7 feet on February 10, 1937, and reached 48.03 feet on May 10, 2011, against a 46-foot major flood stage. USGS says the New Madrid zone's 1811-1812 sequence included three very large earthquakes estimated at magnitude 7 to 8, and it gives 25-40% odds of a magnitude 6.0-plus event over the next 50 years. Federal disaster declarations covered Shelby County for the April 2025 storms and tornadoes and the January 2026 winter storm. In FEMA's high-risk A and V zones, a building financed with a government-backed loan, or by a federally regulated or insured lender, must carry flood coverage, and FEMA caps NFIP building coverage for its other residential category at $500,000.
Financing Options in Memphis
A Memphis walk-up, a large garden complex and a retail strip each go to a different set of lenders:
Tennessee properties beyond Memphis, including those in Nashville and Knoxville, fall under Tennessee apartment loans.
Memphis Refinancing Between Reappraisals
Shelby County values reset in 2025, the next reappraisal is set for 2029, and state law allows no indexing in between, so today's assessed value is likely the one a refinance lender carries for years. With city and county bills on separate calendars, we collect proof of both payments first.
Apartment List's October 2026 median for the city sat 1.0% under its year-earlier level. With close to half of Memphis housing older than 1970, expect the condition report to focus on roofs, plumbing and wiring, with repair reserves where it finds deferred work.
Memphis Apartment Building Loans When Nearly Half the Housing Predates 1970
Per HUD's 2024 analysis, 48% of Memphis housing predates 1970, versus 36% nationally, and just 4% went up in 2010 or later. Typical Memphis collateral includes:
- Garden-style apartment complexes in Hickory Hill and Whitehaven
- Older brick walk-ups in Midtown and Vollintine-Evergreen
- Downtown and Uptown lofts and mid-rise buildings
- Rentals near the University of Memphis
- Tax-credit and other affordable housing
- Buildings with apartments over street-level shops
Long-Term Multifamily Money for Bigger Memphis Communities
For a Memphis property with hundreds of units, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the two agencies, can reach 80% LTV on terms running to 30 years, and borrowers sign only customary carve-out guarantees rather than full recourse. HUD stretches repayment furthest: Fannie Mae's FHA Risk Share term sheet allows a payoff that fully amortizes within 40 years. CMBS (conduit) loans skip recourse too, while banks stay flexible and often keep it.
HUD's 2024 analysis counted 1,950 metro rental units under construction and forecast demand for 2,675 by June 1, 2027, so our agency packages open with the property's own occupancy history. Details live on Memphis multifamily loans, with program notes on our Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae pages.
Memphis Multifamily Loan Rates
For larger balances, over $6 million
Memphis Distribution, Medical and Retail Property Loans
Memphis distribution buildings, clinics, shopping centers and hotels get the same lender comparison as apartments:
Nearby Apartment Loan Markets
Nashville has its own page; the other links cover the rest of Tennessee and the nation:
Recent Apartment Loan Closings
Recent loans from other parts of the country appear below, and a Memphis request gets the same lender-by-lender pricing.
What Our Clients Say
“I am a veterinarian who purchased an existing practice. I was surprised to find a company that offered 100% financing at a good rate, with great terms and rates for medical office financing.”
Carol K. · Chicago, IL“I spoke to several commercial lenders before finding Select Commercial. They got me a lower rate and their service was exceptional. If you need a multifamily loan, you need to talk to Stephen.”
Nathan B. · Philadelphia, PA“Select Commercial was very helpful with my multifamily mortgage. Stephen went over several options and we came up with the best lender to meet my needs. I got the funds and also lowered my payments.”
Gary M. · Portland, OR“Select Commercial offered 100% financing for my medical practice when my bank would have required 20% down. They delivered something my bank could not, and handled everything professionally.”
John C. · Boston, MAGet Your Memphis Apartment Loan Quote
Our first request on any Memphis building is a short document set: the rent roll, trailing income and expense figures, the City and Shelby County tax bills, the 2025 reappraisal notice and insurance declarations with wind and earthquake deductibles. With those, we shop the file and return each lender's written terms.
- No application or processing fees
- Written answers within 48 hours
- For 5+ unit and commercial properties, $1.5M and up