That’s based on data for 65 Dayton-area businesses listed at BizBuySell.com, which recently released a report on businesses for sale in the Dayton area in the fourth quarter of 2013.
The current median asking price of area businesses for sale is $250,00o, the site said. A year ago, at the end of fourth quarter in 2012, the same measure was $262,000.
Businesses listed in the Dayton area had a median revenue of $615,000, up from $348,733 at this same time last year.
The median cash flow — which the site defined as “the money that comes out of the business over the course of a year” — is $103,389, versus median cash flow of $70,000 last year.
The site put the median sale price for area restaurants at $225,000. For other types of retail businesses, the median price was put at $110,000.
The report is based on businesses listed by local brokers, as well as “for sale by owner” listings put up without the help of a broker. The data is voluntarily reported.
Curtis Kroeker, group general manager for BizBuySell.com, said national numbers point to a stronger economy.
More small businesses —Kroeker called them “main street businesses” — are being sold, with transactions up 49 percent up compared to 2012.
“Folks who are wanting to become their own new boss finally have the confidence to do so,” Kroeker said. Plus, prospective entrepreneurs may be able to afford to buy. Stock market and home values are up. And some banks are more willing to lend.
All of that leads to greater confidence, Kroeker said.
Chris Kershner, Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce vice president of public policy and economic development, welcomed the report’s findings.
“The trend that we’ve seen is that when the economy is improving, (entrepreneurs) feel more ready to take risks in the market place,” he said.
On the local numbers, Kroeker said it’s challenging to draw conclusions from a smaller city’s sample.
But he said the number of Dayton businesses listed on BizBuySell.com was 65 in the fourth quarter of 2013, up from 54 in the final quarter of 2012.
The local median asking price was “strong,” but down slightly compared to 2012, when owners were “more aggressive” in setting prices for businesses they were trying to sell, Kroeker said.
“You definitely have pent-up supply and pent-up demand,” he said.
Calling itself the “Internet’s largest and most heavily trafficked business for sale marketplace,” BizBuySell.com, based in San Francisco, lists 40,000 businesses for sale and has more than 910,000 monthly visits.
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