Q3 2009 Business Valuation Data
Sell My Seattle, WA Business
We just received the latest Seattle, Washington business valuation data for Third Quarter 2009.
Median Ask Prices for Seattle, WA Businesses
If you are interested in trends in business-for-sale asking prices, here are the median asking prices for businesses in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area for the last 11 quarters.
As shown in the table, Seattle business-for-sale listings in Q3 2009 had a median asking price of $225,000.
That compares to a median ask price of $250,000 in Q3 2008. Given that Seattle, WA median business asking prices appear to be dropping, it suggests that selling Seattle businesses may be lowering their prices to make their businesses more attractive to buyers.
Revenue Multiples for Seattle, WA Businesses
Here is how median revenue multiples are trending in the Seattle area, based on BizBuySell.com's quarterly reports.
In the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area, small companies will typically sell for 0.80 times the selling company's revenues. As shown in the chart above, that was the mean revenue multiple for Q3 2009 in this area of the country.
In other words, a business that has revenues of $150,000 might list for $119,566. Keep in mind that this is in fact an average for revenue multiples in Seattle and surrounding communities. Some companies will have higher revenue multiples and others will have lower revenue multiples.
According to BizBuySell.com, the median revenues for its Seattle business-for-sale listings was $434,411 in Q3 2009.
In terms of trending year over year, the Q3 2008 revenue multiple was 0.74 and the median revenue for listed Seattle businesses was $465,264.
Cash Flow Multiples for Seattle, WA Businesses
Here is how cash flow multiples are trending in the Seattle area, based on BizBuySell.com's quarterly reports.
Flow Multiple
As you probably know, cash flow multiples are another common way to value a business.
For Q3 2009, the average cash flow multiple for businesses listed in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area was 3.33.
So, a business with cash flows of $110,000 might list for $366,376. That's only if the firm complies with the local average. Most businesses will not conform to industry- or area averages.
In case you were wondering what typical cash flows are for a business in Seattle, BizBuySell.com found that the median cash flow for Seattle area businesses was $98,000 in Q3 2009. In Q3 2008, Seattle cash flow multiples averaged 3.28 and the median cash flow was $103,224.
Number of Seattle Businesses for Sale in the Dataset
The study data comprised 265 listings in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area. As such, some of the businesses used to derive the median valuation might be outside of Seattle, but they are nearby and so are probably representative of Seattle business valuations.
One year ago, in Q3 2008, the BizBuySell.com dataset for Seattle spanned 339 listings. The downward trend in the number of Seattle business-for-sale listings is indicative of the current down economy.
Can I Sell My Seattle, WA Business Now?
The market is turning around and it's a great time to sell. Still, you may have to be creative. For example, with credit still relatively tight, you might want to consider offing seller financing to a buyer. This will improve your odds of closing a business-for-sale transaction. This helpful tip comes from Domenic Rinaldi, managing partner of Sun Acquisitions, a leading business brokerage firm.
Business Valuations for Seattle, WA Businesses
If you are contemplating buying a business or selling a business and would like to look at completed transaction sale price comparables in the area, we recommend the BizBuySell.com Business Valuation Tool. Based on your specific criteria, you can modify the company dataset that creates business valuation estimates. Access to the tool is very reasonable -- costing less than $100.
BizBuySell.com's Quarterly Reports
The BizBuySell Insight Report is published quarterly. If you find these trends interesting, take a moment to visit BizBuySell.com Insights Report for additional information.
Share this article
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs