⚡ TL;DR:
SBA loans hit $17B but approvals dropped 26%—default rates at 12-year high (3.7%)
New reality: Model at 10.5%, cap deals at 4x EBITDA, target 1.5x DSCR minimum
This week: $800K property mgmt (1.89x DSCR), $2.85M spray booth mfg, $3.5M CPA practice, plus more
Newly Listed Deals
Property Management Company
Home-based Texas property management firm with 14-year track record and steady revenue. Solid fundamentals: $275K net profit on $350K revenue, managing $3.8M+ in HOA assets, automated systems in place, and owner retiring—ideal for someone seeking established recurring revenue business.
📍 Location: Williamson County, TX
💰 Asking Price: $800K
💼 Net Profit: $275K
📊 Revenue: $350K
🧮 Estimated DSCR: 1.89x
💵 Estimated Cash Flow After Debt Service: $145K
ℹ️ Source: BusinessBroker.net
⏰ Listed: 3 Days Ago
Business Highlights
78% profit margins with low overhead home-based model
14-year established serving North Austin Metro area
Automated systems for transactions and interactions
SBA pre-approved with 20% down payment
Owner training included to assist new buyer
Industrial Spray Booth Manufacturer
USA-based automated paint booth supplier specializing in design, distribution, and installation for industrial clients. Strong fundamentals: $802K cash flow on $5.5M revenue, established 2005, comprehensive product range, and experiencing significant growth—ideal for strategic buyer seeking proven manufacturing business.
📍 Location: USA
💰 Asking Price: $2.85M
💼 Cash Flow: $802K
📊 Revenue: $5.5M
🧮 Estimated DSCR: 1.59x
💵 Estimated Cash Flow After Debt Service: $298K
ℹ️ Source: Bristol Group
⏰ Listed: 4 Days Ago
Business Highlights
Multiple elite brands representing top manufacturers
9 full-time employees with established operations
Comprehensive solutions paint booths, ovens, blasting systems
Professional services installation and repair capabilities
Growth trajectory experiencing significant expansion this year
Metal Products Manufacturer
55-year Florida metal fabrication company serving commercial contractors, homebuilders, and agricultural businesses. Strong fundamentals: $1.4M discretionary earnings on $5.8M revenue, 22 skilled employees, minimal owner oversight, and positioned for continued growth in Florida's booming construction market.
📍 Location: Florida
💰 Asking Price: $7M
💼 Cash Flow: $1.4M
📊 Revenue: $5.8M
🧮 Estimated DSCR: 1.10x
💵 Estimated Cash Flow After Debt Service: $127K
ℹ️ Source: Transworld Business Advisors
⏰ Listed: 6 Days Ago
Business Highlights
Established 1969 with strong market reputation
24% profit margins on custom metal fabrication
22 cross-trained employees including welders and fabricators
Minimal owner involvement with experienced management team
$250K FF&E + $100K inventory included in sale
Ventura County CPA Practice
Established 1990 California tax practice with strong client relationships and modern software suite. Solid fundamentals: $1.2M projected cash flow on $2.6M revenue, 863 individual and 460 business returns, lease expires 2026—ideal for CPA seeking turnkey practice in affluent market.
📍 Location: Ventura County, CA
💰 Asking Price: $3.5M
💼 Cash Flow: $1.2M (projected 2025)
📊 Revenue: $2.6M
🧮 Estimated DSCR: 1.87x
💵 Estimated Cash Flow After Debt Service: $556K
ℹ️ Source: Accounting Practice Sales
⏰ Listed: 5 Days Ago
Practice Highlights
$90K annual revenue via bookkeeping 360 clients
15% of clients meet seller/staff ensuring smooth transition
Modern tech stack Lacerte, Smart Vault, QuickBooks, Adobe Pro
65 other tax returns beyond individual and business
Prime location lease through 2026 with workspace for growth
Electrical Service Business
60-year Long Island electrical contractor with established residential, commercial, and industrial client base. Strong fundamentals: $500K cash flow on $1.3M revenue, turnkey operation with 6 employees, and owner willing to train—perfect for expanding into NY's strong construction market.
📍 Location: Long Island, NY
💰 Asking Price: $999K
💼 Cash Flow: $500K
📊 Revenue: $1.3M
🧮 Estimated DSCR: 2.57x
💵 Estimated Cash Flow After Debt Service: $311K
ℹ️ Source: BusinessMart
⏰ Listed: 2 Days Ago
Business Highlights
60-year track record serving Long Island market
38% profit margins with consistent performance
Well-trained crew of 6 licensed electricians
24-hour emergency service with repeat customer base
$100K FF&E included trucks, tools, and equipment
Note: DSCR calculations assume 10.50% SBA 7(a) rate, 10% down payment, 10-year term
⏱️ Stop wasting 10+ hours weekly searching multiple deal sites.
Every business for sale, one daily-updated spreadsheet. See all deals from 150+ deal and broker websites.
Never miss a deal: All listings aggregated daily
Analyze faster: Compare financials in seconds
Filter instantly: By industry, location, revenue, price
Share with your team: One-click collaboration
First to know: New opportunities highlighted daily
Get EBIT Pro for $39/mo and focus on evaluating deals, not finding them.
The SBA Loan Paradox: Why Bigger Checks Mean Smaller Opportunities in 2025
The $17 Billion Reality Check
The SBA loan market is experiencing a fascinating contradiction. While dollar volume races toward record levels with $17 billion approved, loan count plummeted 26% from 65,000 to 48,000—fundamentally reshaping the acquisition landscape.
This isn't just a statistical curiosity. It's a seismic shift that affects every searcher's strategy.
The New Risk Landscape: A Sector-by-Sector Breakdown
Default rates hit 3.7% in 2024—the highest since 2012. But risk isn't distributed evenly. Understanding where problems concentrate helps you avoid landmines and spot opportunities.
🔴 The Red Zone
Accommodation & Food Services crossed the 5% probability of default threshold.
Full-service restaurants saw default rates surge 40-50 basis points
Fitness centers experienced a 60 basis point increase as the pandemic hangover continues
🟡 The Yellow Zone
Wholesale Trade, Transportation, and Manufacturing all hover near 4.5% default probability. These sectors face real headwinds:
Supply chain vulnerabilities
Fuel cost pressures
Margin compression
But they aren't write-offs for disciplined buyers.
🟢 The Green Zone
Health Care & Social Assistance maintains the lowest risk profile at 2.7% PD, with regulatory moats protecting margins
Surprisingly strong performers:
Landscaping
Auto Repair
Residential Remodeling
For detailed sector-by-sector risk analysis, see Lumos's complete Small Business Credit Performance report.
Why 2025 Is Different: The Triple Threat
Three forces converged to create today's market dynamics.
1. The Rate Reality
With 80% of SBA loans on variable rates, the Prime surge from 3.25% to 8.5% created a debt service warning signal.
Key Impact: Every 100 basis points costs an extra $2,500 monthly on a $3M loan. Nearly 30% of 2023-24 acquisitions now operate below 1.25x coverage—dangerously thin margins.
2. The Stimulus Hangover
Lumos's predictive models revealed something startling: while their AI predicted rising defaults in 2022, actual defaults stayed artificially low.
PPP and EIDL masked weak businesses until 2024, when reality hit hard
FY 2018-19 vintage loans reached 5.3% default rates
The "catch-up" effect added 150-200 basis points to baseline risk
3. The Policy Pivot
August 2023 SBA rule changes, designed to increase access, inadvertently increased risk. Banks loosened standards while nonbanks stayed disciplined—a complete reversal of historical patterns.
Deep dive into how policy changes drove default rates: SBA Default Analysis Whitepaper.
Your 2025 Acquisition Playbook
Success in this environment requires adjusting your approach across three dimensions.
Financial Engineering That Works
The old rules are dead. Here's what actually works:
Model every deal at 10.5% rates (Prime + 2%)
Target 1.5x minimum DSCR (1.25x is obsolete)
Cap prices at 4.0x EBITDA for variable-rate deals
Structure 70% bank / 30% seller note for flexibility
Under June 2025 rules:
Plan for 15-20% down to win competitive deals (even though 10% is minimum)
At least 5% must be cash—no more fully seller-financed equity
Budget an additional $50-75K for working capital beyond acquisition costs
Sector Selection: Follow Fundamentals
The best opportunities share three characteristics:
Essential services
High switching costs
Simple business models
Essential Home Services Lead the Pack
HVAC, plumbing, and electrical post 0.3% default rates versus 6.7% for retail
30% of tradespeople retiring by 2027 creates supply-demand dynamics favoring owners
Proven ability to pass through 15-20% price increases without losing customers
Healthcare Adjacent Services
Medical equipment maintenance
Specialized transport
Dental labs
Avoid: Direct medical practice acquisitions unless you deeply understand MSO structures
"Boring" B2B Manufacturing
Gasket manufacturers generate 15-25% EBITDA margins with built-in moats
The Lender Relationship Game
The lending landscape has shifted dramatically:
Approval times doubled from 45 to 75+ days
Cold applications die—relationship banking is back
Top SBA Lenders by Volume (2025 YTD)
Lender | Volume | Loans | Avg Loan Size | Strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Huntington National Bank | $877M | 3,476 | $253K | Leads in count |
Live Oak Banking | $1.3B | 1,087 | $1.2M | Leads in dollars |
Newtek Bank | $990M | 2,465 | $402K | Strong in both |
Specialty lenders | Varies | Varies | Varies | Readycap, Lendistry, Harvest |
Notice the pattern? Banks writing smaller average loans versus specialists like Live Oak averaging $1.2M. Know which camp fits your deal size.
Your Competitive Advantage:
Pre-submit rate sensitivity analyses at 8%, 10%, and 12%
Include a one-page recession scenario
Always bring two lenders to create competition
Match your deal size to the right lender type
The Contrarian Opportunities
While others retreat, smart buyers find opportunities in three areas:
Industry roll-ups in fragmented sectors create value through consolidation
Seller-financed deals with desperate owners accepting 40-50% notes improve returns
Geographic arbitrage in secondary markets captures 20-30% valuation discounts
The Bottom Line
The SBA market isn't broken—it's recalibrating. Cowboys who overleveraged in 2022-23 are failing. Disciplined buyers who understand the new reality are thriving.
In a world of fewer but larger loans, being the best-prepared buyer matters more than being the highest bidder. The fundamentals still work—essential services, reasonable leverage, and patient capital. But the margin for error has compressed.
The businesses that survived 2024's stress test proved their resilience. Now they're available at reasonable prices to buyers who come prepared.
Just remember: discipline beats enthusiasm when capital is dear and mistakes are costly.
Data sources: SBA.gov loan performance data, Lumos Portfolio Score analysis, Federal Reserve Economic Data, BizBuySell Q1 2025 Market Report. For comprehensive risk analysis and predictive modeling, see Lumos Data's research reports.
Disclaimer: Educational content only - not investment advice. Listings from third-party sources, accuracy not guaranteed. Do your own due diligence. Consult professionals before making decisions.
