Q3 2009 Business Valuation Data
Sell My Vancouver, WA Business
BizBuySell.com has just released its Vancouver, Washington business valuation data for Third Quarter 2009.
Median Ask Prices for Vancouver, WA Businesses
If you are interested in trends in business-for-sale asking prices, here are the median asking prices for businesses for sale in the Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA metro area for the last 11 quarters.
As you can see from the chart above, Vancouver business-for-sale listings in Q3 2009 had a median asking price of $292,250.
That compares to a median ask price of $275,000 in Q3 2008. Because the median ask price for businesses for sale in Vancouver has risen year over year, we can conclude that many smaller firms in Vancouver are holding off on selling.
Revenue Multiples for Vancouver, WA Businesses
Here is how median revenue multiples are moving in the Vancouver area, based on BizBuySell.com's quarterly reports.
In the Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA metro area, small companies will typically sell for 0.88 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 $132,212. Keep in mind that this is strictly an average for revenue multiples in the area. Some firms will have higher revenue multiples and others will have lower revenue multiples.
According to BizBuySell.com, the median revenues for its Vancouver business-for-sale listings was $436,712 in Q3 2009.
To put this in perspective, the Q3 2008 revenue multiple was 0.96 and the median revenue for listed Vancouver businesses was $389,575.
Cash Flow Multiples for Vancouver, WA Businesses
Here is how cash flow multiples are trending in the Vancouver 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 listed businesses in the Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA metro area was 3.68.
So, a company with cash flows of $110,000 might list for $405,086. That calculation is dependent on the business selling for the area's average multiple. Actual cash flow multiples are based on business specifics.
If you are interested in what cash flows are for a business in Vancouver, BizBuySell.com determined that the median cash flow for Vancouver area businesses was $100,000 in Q3 2009. In Q3 2008, Vancouver cash flow multiples averaged 3.84 and the median cash flow was $95,114.
Number of Vancouver Businesses for Sale in the Dataset
The study data comprised 130 listings in the Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA metro area. Many of the businesses in the dataset are outside of Vancouver, but they are in the area and so are likely representative of Vancouver business valuations.
In Q3 2008, just one year ago, there were 196 Vancouver listings in the BizBuySell.com dataset. As a result of the recession, fewer Vancouver business owners are selling because they hope to weather the storm and sell after the economy turns around.
Can I Sell My Vancouver, WA Business Now?
While some business owners are waiting to sell until the market turns around, this can be a mistake. When the market turns around, many businesses will rush to list themselves for sale and this could lead to lower sale prices because of the basic laws of supply and demand. For this reason, it might make sense to act counterintuitively to common wisdom on when it's the right time to sell a business. This good advice comes from Domenic Rinaldi, managing partner of Sun Acquisitions, a leading business brokerage firm.
Business Valuations for Vancouver, WA Businesses
If you are considering 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 more information.
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