Q3 2009 Business Valuation Data
Sell My Arlington, VA Business
We just received the latest Arlington, Virginia business-for-sale statistics.
Median Ask Prices for Arlington, VA 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area for the last 11 quarters.
As you can see from the chart above, Arlington business-for-sale listings in Q3 2009 had a median asking price of $250,000.
That compares to a median ask price of $250,000 in Q3 2008. In spite of the difficult economy, Arlington, VA business valuations appear to be relatively stable.
Revenue Multiples for Arlington, VA Businesses
Here is how median revenue multiples are trending in the Arlington area, based on BizBuySell.com's data.
In the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area, small companies will usually sell for 0.74 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 $110,487. Keep in mind that this is only an average for revenue multiples in Arlington and surrounding communities. Some firms will have higher revenue multiples and others will have lower revenue multiples.
According to BizBuySell.com, the median revenues for its Arlington business-for-sale listings was $450,000 in Q3 2009.
To give this some context, the Q3 2008 revenue multiple was 0.71 and the median revenue for listed Arlington businesses was $438,000.
Cash Flow Multiples for Arlington, VA Businesses
Here is how cash flow multiples are trending in the Arlington 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area was 3.03.
So, a business with cash flows of $110,000 might list for $333,542. 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 Arlington, BizBuySell.com reports that the median cash flow for Arlington area businesses was $100,000 in Q3 2009. In Q3 2008, Arlington cash flow multiples averaged 2.98 and the median cash flow was $100,000.
Number of Arlington Businesses for Sale in the Dataset
The study data comprised 747 listings in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area. As such, some of the businesses used to derive the median valuation might be outside of Arlington, but they are in the area and so are probably representative of Arlington business valuations.
One year ago, in Q3 2008, the BizBuySell.com dataset for Arlington spanned 1013 listings. In a market where you would think fewer business owners would be selling, it's a bit surprising to see more Arlington business-for-sale listings.
Can I Sell My Arlington, VA Business Now?
The decision to sell now or wait until later should be based on your own personal circumstances and your business's circumstances. A short consultation with a business broker can help you determine whether now is the right time to sell. This useful tip comes from Domenic Rinaldi, managing partner of Sun Acquisitions, a leading business brokerage firm.
Business Valuations for Arlington, VA 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 a nationally-recognized economic report that tracks trends in the business-for-sale marketplace. If you find these trends interesting, take a moment to visit BizBuySell.com Insights Report for more information.
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