Experts and economists always talk about buyers and sellers markets for all sorts of things. Things like the housing market, used and new cars, condos, luxury lifestyle items, ect. What is less commonly analyzed: the market of businesses. Weird thought, right? Selling a business... It seems a little backward from the usual model of businesses sell goods and services. However, businesses have their own market just like any good. And there is more... Real estate brokers? Well there are actually business brokers too! They just so happen to sell businesses that cost millions to hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Now that the picture of the business market is painted, consider this in light of the current economy. There are many complexities in the situation, reasons to sell and not to sell, but this article from the New York Times sums it up pretty well: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/07/a-tough-time-to-time-the-sale-of-a-business/?ref=business.
Is it a buyer's market or seller's market? The article suggests that both are true to some extent, and focuses on the timing if the sale of the business.
Reasons to sell now:
1. Tax cuts- the Bush-era tax cuts have been extended to 2013
2. Coming out of the recession, people are looking for new careers and ventures... owning a business that already has some established credibility is a great place for many people to start.
3. The baby boomers looking to retire are going to flood the market with their businesses for sale in about ten years.
Reasons to sell later:
1. Business prices will stabilize after 2013.
2. Business valuations will increase after they return to pre-recession levels in 2014.
The article offers this last piece of advice to people planning to sell their businesses, "Whatever your situation, the sooner you start thinking about the many issues associated with the sale of a business and how they will affect you, your family and your transaction, the more successful your outcome is likely to be."
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