Commercial real estate lending in St. Lawrence County, NY
St. Lawrence County is home to 107,796 residents with a median household income of $61,900 and a 1.6% population decline over five years. Commercial deals here are underwritten to New York's typical standards — around 1.25x DSCR and 75% maximum LTV on stabilized assets — with pricing shaped by the county fundamentals below.
Market character
St. Lawrence County runs along the Canadian border, where cross-border retail and trucking traffic supports a thin but persistent commercial base spread across a geographically enormous county. Dairy farmland dominates the land-lending book, small private colleges anchor Canton and Potsdam's rental markets, and county-seat retail strips are the extent of anything resembling a traditional CRE market.
St. Lawrence County by the numbers
| Population | 107,796 |
| 5-year population change | -1.6% |
| Median household income | $61,900 |
| Median age | 39 |
| Median home value | $119,800 |
| Median gross rent | $799/mo |
| Housing units | 51,884 |
| Renter-occupied share | 28.5% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates (2023).
Underwriting a St. Lawrence County deal
A St. Lawrence County property clears the same four constraints as any New York deal — 1.25x minimum DSCR and 75% maximum LTV on stabilized assets, an 8% debt-yield floor, and loan-to-cost caps on construction — with benchmark cap rates for NY spanning roughly 5.0% (multifamily) to 7.0% (hotel). The full state-by-asset-class table lives on the benchmarks page; run St. Lawrence County numbers through the loan sizer to see which constraint binds.
New York closing costs to budget
Financing in St. Lawrence County carries New York's mortgage recording tax — the single largest closing cost on most deals (up to 2.8% of the loan in NYC). Refinances routinely use a CEMA to pay tax only on new money. Estimate the full stack for a St. Lawrence County deal with the closing cost calculator or read the recording tax guide.
Financing a property in St. Lawrence County?
Relendi analyzes your deal against real underwriting criteria — DSCR, LTV, debt yield, and market benchmarks — in minutes.
Analyze my deal freeFrequently asked questions
What DSCR do lenders require in St. Lawrence County?
In St. Lawrence County — a market of 107,796 residents where median gross rent runs $799 a month — lenders apply New York's usual floors: typically 1.25x DSCR stabilized, 1.20x on acquisitions, 1.10x on bridge or construction. The county changes which lenders compete for the deal more than it changes the ratio.
What are typical commercial cap rates in St. Lawrence County?
Statewide New York benchmarks run roughly 5.0% for multifamily up to 7.0% for hotels; where St. Lawrence County deals price inside those bands depends on submarket, asset quality, and tenancy — in a county whose median home value is $119,800, residential-adjacent product tends to price toward the wider end. Individual comps set real pricing.