SBA lenders have funded 116,345 loans through the 504 program since FY2010, as of the data’s March 2026 refresh, totaling $96.7 billion at an average of $831,070 per loan, about 11% of every SBA loan in our database. That figure is the full 504 book: 504 is the program built for owner-occupied commercial real estate, though it also finances long-life equipment. The 7(a) program can finance owner-occupied real estate too, but those loans are counted under 7(a), not here. See the full breakdown on our commercial real estate data page and the underlying figures on datasets.
California dominates this category more than any other state, 22,263 loans totaling $22.9 billion, nearly a quarter (23.6%) of every dollar of 504 commercial real estate financing in the country, despite holding only 19.1% of the loan count, a sign of larger average deals. Florida is a distant second, 9,748 loans and $7.9 billion. On the lender side, Mortgage Capital Development Corporation funded the most, 5,420 loans averaging $1.18 million each, followed by CDC Small Business Finance Corp. (5,090 loans, $973,000 average) and Florida Business Development Corporation, which actually made more loans than either, 5,748, but at a smaller average, $766,045. These are Certified Development Companies (CDCs), not banks; a 504 real estate deal always runs through one.
The occupancy rule: 51% for an existing building, 60% for new construction
A 504 loan is not a general-purpose real estate loan. It is built for real estate you occupy, and the SBA defines “occupy” precisely, under 13 CFR 120.131:
- Existing building. You must permanently occupy and use at least 51% of the rentable property. You can lease out the remainder, up to 49%.
- New construction. You must occupy at least 60% of the rentable property at completion. You may permanently lease up to 20%, and you must occupy the additional space within three years and any remaining unleased space within ten years.
There is no such threshold on a straight investment property. If most of the building is destined for other tenants, 504 (and generally 7(a)) is not the tool; that is a conventional commercial real estate loan.
How the financing is structured
A 504 deal is really two loans plus your equity:
- About 50% from a bank or credit union, as a first-lien loan, negotiated with the bank directly.
- About 40% from a Certified Development Company and the SBA, as a second-lien loan at a long-term fixed rate, set when the debenture funds.
- About 10% from you, rising to roughly 15% for a startup (in business under two years) or a special-purpose property (a gas station, hotel, self-storage facility, or similar), and 20% when both apply. Building a new building does not, by itself, trigger the higher tier; property type and business age do. See SBA loan down payment and equity requirements for the fuller picture, including where that equity can come from.
Maturities run 10, 20, or 25 years, matched to the asset, with a maximum debenture of $5.5 million. Longer terms are the whole point: they keep the payment on a large, long-lived purchase manageable. For the CDC mechanics and what else 504 can fund beyond real estate, including heavy equipment, see the SBA 504 loan, explained and SBA loans for equipment.
The job creation requirement
A 504 project generally has to create or retain one job for every $95,000 of the SBA-guaranteed debenture, or $150,000 for a small manufacturer or a qualifying energy public-policy project, under the current standard effective for loans approved on or after October 1, 2025 (raised from $90,000 and $140,000). A project that cannot meet the jobs test can instead qualify under one of SBA’s public policy or community development goals. This is a CDC-level requirement on the deal, not something you calculate yourself, but it explains why a CDC will ask about hiring plans early.
When 7(a) fits instead
If the real estate purchase is smaller, bundled with working capital or equipment, or you want a simpler single-lender structure instead of the bank-plus-CDC arrangement, a 7(a) loan can finance owner-occupied real estate too, generally with less rigid structure and a smaller minimum down payment, at the cost of the 504’s long fixed rate. Our 504 vs 7(a) by the data study lays out the tradeoff using the same funded-loan records behind this page.
Getting to a lender
Not every bank or CDC is active in commercial real estate at your size or in your state. Run the numbers with the SBA 504 loan calculator, then get a shortlist of lenders that actually fund deals like yours through get matched, built on the same track-record data as this page, not who pays for placement.
Before you rely on this
Occupancy rules, equity tiers, and job creation ratios follow the current SBA SOP and change over time; the figures above reflect SOP 50 10 8 (effective June 1, 2025) and the job creation standard effective October 1, 2025. Confirm current requirements, and how a specific CDC applies them, with a participating lender before you commit to a purchase.