Driven by steady growth, the sale and purchase of small businesses are on the rise, revealed new data.
BizBuySell report on the fourth quarter of 2017
According to BizBuySell's fourth-quarter 2016 Insight Report, small business transactions climbed steadily as 2016 reached an all-time high.
Sharp rise in sales and higher prices
Over the years, demand for small businesses has grown at a steady pace. In 2016, the average sales price of businesses was $ 200,000. The number of businesses sold in the same year was 7,842.
The largest small businesses purchased and sold were retail sales, including restaurants, which accounted for 43%. The service sector was the second most popular activity type, followed by manufacturing companies and Internet-related businesses.
Places with potential
With regard to the states where businesses were the most bought and sold, California topped the list with 21% of its businesses bought and sold that year. Next, in Florida, 14% of companies were bought or sold and New York, where 9% of companies were bought and sold that year, according to the data.
Who buys and sells small businesses?
Data on who buys and sells small businesses provides an interesting snapshot of the data.
The data show that buyers and sellers of small businesses are mainly Caucasian married men with college education, aged 40 to 50 years.
Most of these small business owners seem optimistic about the future. Seventy-three percent of small business owners attributed their optimism to expectations of real estate gains and prospects for the economy.
To learn more about the contribution of an improved business environment to the growing number of small business transactions, see the infographic below:
Images: BizBuySell ]