Bizbuysell, the nation’s oldest and largest online database of “for sale” businesses recently issued their third quarter Insight report. The report shows that most businesses are listed for an average asking price to cash flow or sellers’ discretionary earnings “SDE” between 2.5x – 3x cash flow. This is in line with long term historic cash flow multiples which empirical studies have shown do not change much over time. The average asking price to revenue is between .5x – 1.0x (the P/R metric is usually less predictive of business value than P/SDE). So, if you are thinking about buying or selling a business in Seattle to Miami or any other U.S. market the Insight report will provide you with…well Insight about your market.
| Market | # of Listings | Median Asking Price | Median Revenue | Average Asking Price to Revenue | Median Cash Flow | Average Asking Price to Cash Flow/SDE |
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | 52 | $426,290 | $828,794 | 0.84 | $197,190 | 3.1 |
| Albuquerque, NM | 97 | $460,000 | $819,000 | 0.85 | $210,000 | 3.03 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA | 715 | $355,000 | $680,000 | 0.82 | $168,000 | 2.94 |
| Austin-Round Rock, TX | 281 | $399,000 | $720,373 | 0.76 | $193,000 | 2.83 |
| Baltimore-Towson, MD | 299 | $425,000 | $800,000 | 0.75 | $175,000 | 3.16 |
| Birmingham-Hoover, AL | 128 | $300,000 | $830,000 | 0.67 | $182,000 | 2.77 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH | 543 | $395,000 | $750,000 | 0.72 | $180,000 | 2.69 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT | 164 | $350,000 | $843,079 | 0.71 | $185,000 | 2.8 |
| Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY | 43 | $359,000 | $850,000 | 0.8 | $175,000 | 2.9 |
| Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC | 320 | $325,000 | $634,907 | 0.71 | $151,587 | 2.94 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI | 687 | $450,000 | $717,140 | 0.79 | $176,881 | 3.24 |
| Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN | 192 | $350,000 | $738,004 | 0.77 | $186,442 | 2.91 |
| Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH | 301 | $350,000 | $737,000 | 0.85 | $204,000 | 2.79 |
| Columbus, OH | 198 | $400,000 | $875,000 | 0.71 | $199,000 | 3.03 |
| Contra Costa-Alameda-Solano, CA | 207 | $370,000 | $704,000 | 0.77 | $157,590 | 3.08 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 1191 | $390,000 | $718,120 | 0.86 | $173,618 | 3.2 |
| Dayton, OH | 87 | $450,000 | $809,058 | 0.75 | $200,000 | 2.84 |
| Denver-Aurora, CO | 508 | $400,000 | $806,333 | 0.75 | $170,920 | 2.93 |
| Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI | 381 | $275,000 | $570,556 | 0.68 | $125,000 | 2.73 |
| Durham, NC | 43 | $400,000 | $880,000 | 0.61 | $190,000 | 2.92 |
| Fresno, CA | 38 | $557,000 | $714,385 | 1.1 | $234,500 | 3 |
| Greensboro-High Point, NC | 70 | $355,450 | $780,000 | 0.66 | $234,632 | 2.53 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | 203 | $299,000 | $790,000 | 0.58 | $150,000 | 2.5 |
| Honolulu, HI | 33 | $400,000 | $613,220 | 0.85 | $168,164 | 2.69 |
| Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX | 808 | $305,000 | $552,732 | 0.79 | $148,766 | 2.91 |
| Indianapolis-Carmel, IN | 160 | $372,000 | $900,000 | 0.67 | $215,464 | 2.62 |
| Jacksonville, FL | 283 | $330,000 | $667,346 | 0.86 | $155,000 | 3.08 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | 173 | $375,000 | $800,000 | 0.65 | $231,777 | 2.64 |
| Las Vegas-Paradise, NV | 360 | $349,000 | $596,307 | 0.79 | $153,927 | 2.64 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA | 1548 | $350,000 | $650,000 | 0.79 | $150,000 | 3 |
| Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN | 125 | $379,800 | $873,841 | 0.59 | $199,500 | 2.79 |
| Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 107 | $300,000 | $785,828 | 0.67 | $227,500 | 2.56 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL | 1566 | $380,000 | $650,000 | 0.83 | $163,337 | 3.16 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI | 97 | $459,000 | $823,000 | 0.83 | $225,000 | 3.27 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 483 | $475,000 | $789,070 | 0.82 | $184,436 | 3.15 |
| Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro, TN | 284 | $319,000 | $686,011 | 0.76 | $175,351 | 2.86 |
| New Haven-Milford, CT | 123 | $379,000 | $700,000 | 0.77 | $144,744 | 2.87 |
| New Jersey | 1391 | $350,000 | $669,854 | 0.79 | $157,000 | 2.93 |
| New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA | 91 | $415,000 | $715,416 | 0.77 | $188,580 | 2.82 |
| New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA | 3652 | $388,250 | $719,000 | 0.78 | $170,000 | 2.87 |
| Oklahoma City, OK | 148 | $350,000 | $753,000 | 0.79 | $203,000 | 2.66 |
| Orange County, CA | 465 | $333,000 | $600,000 | 0.77 | $135,000 | 2.96 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee, FL | 686 | $350,000 | $634,644 | 0.77 | $165,000 | 2.86 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 766 | $375,000 | $671,944 | 0.8 | $171,750 | 2.81 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | 1033 | $349,000 | $600,000 | 0.81 | $150,000 | 2.93 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 239 | $399,000 | $781,959 | 0.77 | $187,616 | 3.02 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA | 230 | $397,500 | $748,335 | 0.77 | $174,901 | 2.98 |
| Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA | 178 | $350,000 | $666,180 | 0.82 | $150,000 | 3.1 |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | 222 | $342,500 | $750,000 | 0.66 | $195,700 | 2.63 |
| Richmond, VA | 154 | $527,500 | $1,003,772 | 0.73 | $231,508 | 3.17 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 436 | $375,000 | $600,000 | 0.76 | $158,500 | 2.89 |
| Rochester, NY | 85 | $399,000 | $800,000 | 0.66 | $156,000 | 3.43 |
| Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville, CA | 267 | $400,000 | $700,000 | 0.83 | $170,000 | 2.9 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | 157 | $599,999 | $822,250 | 0.94 | $254,812 | 3.34 |
| San Antonio, TX | 211 | $320,000 | $600,000 | 0.81 | $148,500 | 3.03 |
| San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA | 364 | $395,000 | $676,301 | 0.75 | $154,735 | 2.87 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 382 | $398,500 | $701,473 | 0.82 | $163,153 | 2.94 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 143 | $478,000 | $830,000 | 0.9 | $200,000 | 2.89 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 329 | $385,000 | $708,223 | 0.77 | $170,000 | 2.91 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | 341 | $439,000 | $737,579 | 0.84 | $167,449 | 3.62 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 998 | $370,000 | $628,326 | 0.85 | $150,000 | 3.06 |
| Tucson, AZ | 118 | $420,000 | $743,556 | 0.75 | $170,468 | 2.82 |
| Tulsa, OK | 85 | $306,899 | $720,000 | 0.7 | $204,000 | 2.82 |
| Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC | 168 | $350,000 | $667,013 | 0.71 | $167,379 | 2.81 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 594 | $376,000 | $790,313 | 0.64 | $180,000 | 2.76 |
| Wichita, KS | 44 | $307,500 | $744,980 | 0.63 | $221,470 | 2.77 |
| Winston-Salem, NC | 47 | $299,990 | $1,094,134 | 0.49 | $232,940 | 2.14 |
