This survey period saw a substantial non-consecutive dip in buyer positivity. The biggest drop in positivity occurred in the pricing and availability of businesses for sale on the market in which positivity dropped by a massive 13.1%. Alarming though this drop is, business pricing is almost always the primary barrier to reconcile between buyer and seller and can be affected by any number of factors. A business may in fact be overpriced, but it may also be the case that buyers’ perceptions of value and/or attainability may also be down.
For example, buyers’ perceptions of attainability will almost certainly be affected by their ability to obtain finance, thus making the purchase more achievable. With business loans in Australia still being stifled by the European credit crisis, some major banks have announced fresh rate hikes for business loans. Under these circumstances it’s not in the least bit surprising that with business buyers getting hit on both sides of the finance hurdle, positivity in this area has dropped by 7.7% this survey cycle. That said, despite this sudden drop, it appears that we are still better off than we were a year ago.
The final notable drops came from buyers’ positivity towards the likelihood of buying a business and their positivity towards buyer a business in the current market. These saw a 7.35% and a 4.23% drop respectively. The good news is that despite these drops, perceptions of these fields still remain in the positive.
Overall, it was not a good month for buyer positivity, with dips in all areas. One thing that can be taken away from this is that despite a generally negative market, businesses are still being bought and sold, and where deals are being made there is always opportunity.
By Zoran Sarabaca
Xcllusive Business Sales
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