OC-LA business sellers seek $225,000

The average asking price for businesses for sale in the Orange-County-Los Angeles area is about $225,000, according to BizBuySell.

That asking price is unchanged from the third quarter, said the businesses-for-sale Web site.

That’s a bargain by national standards. Unlike the housing market where our prices are double and triple other markets, small businesses cost less here. The median asking price for a small business in the United States jumped to $255,000 at the end of the fourth quarter, a $5,000 increase relative to the prior quarter. 

Here’s BizBuySell’s explanation why our business prices are lower than the rest of the nation.

In the fourth quarter, businesses listed for sale on BizBuySell had median revenue of $360,000, up from $354,000 in the previous quarter.

The median cash flow, meaning the money that comes out of the business over the course of a year, was $92,052, versus $90,400 in the previous quarter.

In the Orange-Los Angeles counties area, the asking price is, on average, annual revenues times 0.83 and annual cash flow times 3.0 (The revenue multiple was 0.85 and cash flow multiple was 3.0 in the third quarter.)

“In 2008, we expect there to be downward pressure on (Orange-Los Angeles counties) business valuations as retiring baby boomers put their businesses up for sale to fund their retirements,” said Mike Handelsman, general manager of BizBuySell.com.

About BizBuySell:

BizBuySell is the Internet's largest and most heavily trafficked business for sale marketplace, with more business for sale listings, more unique users, and more search activity than any other service. BizBuySell currently has an inventory of over 48,000 businesses for sale, and more than 275,000 unique visitors each month. BizBuySell also has one of the largest databases of sale comparables for recently sold businesses and one of the industry's leading franchise directories.

BizBuySell was founded in 1996 and acquired by LoopNet, Inc. in 2004. LoopNet operates the largest commercial real estate listing service online, with more than 2.2 million registered members and 920,000 unique visitors monthly. The LoopNet online marketplace contains more than $440 billion of property available for sale and 3.4 billion square feet of property available for lease.

Media Contact:

Frank Krolicki
Walker Sands Communications
office: (312) 546-4127
email: fkrolicki@walkersands.com

Return to News Articles