A survey of small business owners by BizBuySell.com, the Internet marketplace for buying or selling a small business, found 76 percent of responding brokers nationwide anticipate that 2011 will be a good year to sell. A generally positive feeling about economic recovery seems to be the driving factor for the encouraging reports about the business-for-sale market this year, the report noted.
More than two thirds of the brokers – 69 percent – who anticipate that this year will be a good year to sell a business cite “the economy in general is starting to recover” as driving their bullish outlook. Other top reasons for optimism cited by brokers include “more businesses coming on the market” and “better financing becoming available for business buyers”.
According to the survey, a lack of available financing is still the most common factor preventing business transactions from closing, a trend that is continuing from two previous BizBuySell.com broker surveys conducted in July and November of 2010. Nearly half of the brokers surveyed, 48 percent, report financing as the biggest issue hindering business for sale transactions. Seller unwillingness to lower their asking price is an additional issue, with 26 percent of the brokers surveyed reporting it as a primary factor preventing sales from closing.
“We’re hearing that, while the economy certainly isn’t back to what it was, business owners are starting to feel more confident about it, and they’re seeing a reprieve from the recessionary environment we’ve been in over the past few years,” says Mike Handelsman, group general manager of BizBuySell.com and BizQuest.com. “Based on our conversations with business sellers, brokers and buyers, we believe that stable businesses with appropriate price expectations will likely receive quality offers from prospective buyers if they come on the market during the next twelve months.”
For more, read the eWeek article: 2011 Likely to Be a Stronger Year for Selling a Business: Report.
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