Private Lending Trends as Rates Continue Decreasing and Competition Tightens

Interest rates continue to decline, DSCR demand remains elevated, and traditional short-term bridge loan volume is uninspiring. With the first month of 2026 complete, January largely extended the momentum that closed out 2025. Notably, DSCR loans accounted for more than 58% of all loans created on Lightning Docs in January.

As rates ease and pricing spreads tighten, the market is entering a more competitive phase. Growth is no longer driven by product adoption alone, but by how lenders differentiate through execution, whether by expanding into new markets, closing faster, strengthening relationships, or removing friction from the lending process. January’s data provides an early signal of how lenders are adjusting to that shift.

With the start of a new year, we are now evaluating a cohort of users active on Lightning Docs since the beginning of 2025. Among that group, 224 lenders have used the platform to create bridge loan documents. In January 2026 they produced 2044 loans a volume nearly identical to January 2025 levels in which they produced 2037 loans.