California's Small Business For Sale Transaction Count Declines In October

    DUBLIN, CA, November 14, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The total of business for sale deals that closed in October dipped to 1,143, a decline of about 18% from the number of competed escrows on small and mid-sized businesses recorded during October 2012, according to figures released by the BizBen Index. Much of the slowdown came later in the month as the Federal Government shutdown affected SBA loans to buyers of small California businesses.

"Some of the transactions that might have closed later in the month were derailed when SBA offices were shuttered during the Government shutdown in mid-October," said Peter Siegel, MBA, Founder and President of BizBen.com, parent of the BizBen Index. SBA-backed loans are playing a larger role in the funding of small business purchases, as private small-business lending has declined following the banking crisis and Great Recession."

Siegel said the "inability of a buyer to perform on a purchase contract means he might lose the opportunity to complete a deal if the seller decides to put the business back on the market. This has been a source of frustration for buyers and sellers in many parts of the state."

While most large California counties posted declines is sales totals during October compared with the same month last year, Los Angeles County recorded 318 completed transactions, up over 12% from the 283 businesses sold during the same month last year. Orange County saw a drop from 168 sales in October 2012 to 120 last month, and San Diego County's 109 sales last month represent a 15.5% decline from the 129 sales recorded the same month last year.

Some of Northern California's largest counties also posted smaller sales numbers last month compared to October 2012. San Francisco recorded a decline from 49 to 43 deals and there were 61 sales in Santa Clara County, a drop of 18.67% from the 75 transactions posted the same month last year.

"The slowdown at the end of October took away some of the momentum developed in California's business for sale marketplace over the past few months," said Siegel. "It remains to be seen how quickly the market can recover, as SBA offices are now dealing with a backlog of loan applications to be reviewed."

BizBen Index Sales Statistics

October sales totals by California County, found at
http://www.bizben.com/stats/stats-monthly-oct.php are as follows:

Alameda: 35, Butte: 4, Contra Costa: 17, El Dorado: 4, Fresno: 26, Humboldt: 1, Imperial: 5, Inyo: 3, Kern: 31, Los Angeles: 318, Marin: 1, Mariposa: 1, Mendocino: 1, Merced: 3, Monterey: 11, Napa: 3, Orange: 120, Placer: 9, Plumas: 1, Riverside: 52, Sacramento: 37, San Bernardino: 48, San Diego: 109, San Francisco: 43, San Joaquin: 27, San Luis Obispo: 3, San Mateo: 21, Santa Barbara: 16, Santa Clara: 61, Santa Cruz: 12, Shasta: 2, Solano: 6,Sonoma: 23, Stanislaus: 20, Sutter: 3, Tehama: 1, Trinity: 1, Tulare: 14, Tuolumne: 5, Ventura: 32, Yolo: 7

Sales statistics by city and county throughout the state for the past ten years are accessed at http://www.bizben.com/stats/stats-total.php.

For More Information
Contact: Peter Siegel
Phone: 866-270-6278

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The BizBen Index has been collecting and reporting information about small California business sales for 16 years, to help business owners/sellers, buyers and the professionals participating in this market make informed choices and achieve success. BizBen.com is California's open cloud networking platform and resource for business buyers, owners-sellers and the professionals who serve them.

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