BizBuySell just dropped their 2025 Key Market Indicators report, and if you're thinking about selling your business in the next 12–24 months, this data tells you exactly what you're walking into. No speculation: just what actually happened across $7.95 billion in transactions last year.
Here's what the numbers mean for your exit.
The Market in Four Numbers
The median business sold for $350,000 in 2025: up 2% from 2024. Cash flow multiples averaged 2.61x (up 1%), and revenue multiples hit 0.69x (up 2%). Businesses closed in a median of 170 days.
Translation: The market is stable. Valuations are inching up, but we're not in a feeding frenzy. Buyers are willing to pay, but they're doing their homework. The days of throwing out a multiple and closing in 90 days are gone for most businesses.
If you're running an HVAC, electrical, plumbing, or general contracting company, you're sitting in one of the most active categories on the platform. Building and Construction landed in the top five most-searched categories, right behind service, restaurant, and retail.
What 170 Days to Close Actually Means
Six months. That's the median time from accepted offer to wire transfer. Some deals close faster: retail averaged 163 days. Some take longer: manufacturing deals stretched to 223 days.
This timeline isn't arbitrary. It includes:
- 30–45 days for buyer due diligence
- 45–60 days for SBA loan approval (if applicable)
- 30–45 days for lease assignments, licenses, and final paperwork
- Built-in buffer for contingencies, renegotiations, or lender requests
You don't start the clock when you decide to sell. You start it when you accept an offer. If you're already burnt out, six more months of running the business while lawyers and lenders crawl through your financials will feel like six years.
The lesson: Don't wait until you're ready to retire next month. Start the exit process 12–18 months before you actually want to be done. Get your financials clean, build your systems, and give yourself runway.
Multiples Are Tight: And That's Actually Fine
A 2.61x cash flow multiple sounds low if you've been reading "10 Ways to Sell Your Business for 5x EBITDA" clickbait. But here's the reality: most main street businesses: the ones doing $500K–$3M in revenue: don't sell for 5x. They sell for 2–3x Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE).
The 2.61x average includes:
- Asset-heavy businesses (equipment rental, manufacturing)
- Lifestyle businesses with owner concentration
- Service companies with strong systems but tight margins
- Retail and restaurant deals that traded on real estate value
If your construction business has clean books, recurring commercial contracts, and a team that can operate without you on site every day, you're positioned for the higher end of that range: or above it.
The revenue multiple (0.69x) is less relevant for most trade businesses. SBA lenders and private equity buyers care about cash flow, not top-line revenue. A $2M electrical contractor throwing off $400K in SDE will command more interest than a $5M HVAC company netting $200K.
Where the Buyers Are Looking
The top five states by buyer interest in 2025 were Florida, California, Texas, Arizona, and New York. If your business is located in one of these markets, you're fishing in a bigger pond. More buyer inquiries, more competitive offers, shorter time on market.
But don't assume geography is destiny. A well-run plumbing company in Missouri will attract more interest than a chaotic one in Miami. Buyers care about location: but they care more about systems, contracts, and margin.
Rising themes from the report include financial services, tech services, and: critically for our clients: home services franchises. The franchise model is gaining traction in HVAC, plumbing, and electrical because it offers buyers a proven playbook and brand recognition. If you've built a trade business that operates like a franchise (documented processes, training manuals, repeatable sales systems), you're in a strong position.
The SBA Loan Factor
Here's a stat that didn't make the BizBuySell headline but matters more than the multiples: SBA loans were the primary financing vehicle for the majority of deals under $5M in 2025.
That means your buyer will need to qualify for a loan. The lender will recast your financials, add back personal expenses, and stress-test your cash flow to make sure the business can cover debt service with a 1.25x cushion.
If your books show $300K in adjusted EBITDA, the lender wants to see $375K in actual cash flow after the new owner's reasonable salary. If you can't prove it, the deal retraces: or dies.
We help sellers prepare for this reality before they list. Clean financials, defensible add-backs, and third-party verification remove the biggest friction point in SBA-financed deals.
What Construction and Trade Owners Need to Know
Building and construction businesses landed in the top five categories for a reason: buyers see opportunity. The sector has strong fundamentals: recurring revenue from commercial contracts, aging ownership demographics, and fragmented markets ripe for consolidation.
But the same traits that make construction businesses attractive also create deal risk:
- Job costing inconsistency: If you can't show margin by project type, buyers assume the worst.
- Customer concentration: One general contractor representing 40% of revenue is a red flag.
- Owner dependency: If you're the lead estimator, project manager, and client relationship owner, the business doesn't transfer cleanly.
- Equipment condition: Buyers will hire a third-party inspector to assess your fleet. Deferred maintenance kills value.
The businesses that sold at or above the 2.61x multiple had one thing in common: they operated without the owner being the linchpin. Systems, not superheroes.
Three Takeaways for Sellers in 2026
1. The market is stable, but multiples are compressed.
You're not going to get 5x unless you're running a software business or a specialty contractor with recurring maintenance contracts and 30%+ margins. Plan for 2.5–3.5x SDE and be pleasantly surprised if a strategic buyer or PE firm offers more.
2. Start early.
Six months to close means you need 12–18 months of runway to prepare. If you're waiting until you're burnt out to start the process, you're already behind. Get financials clean, document systems, and reduce owner dependency now.
3. Building and construction is hot: if you're ready.
Buyers are actively searching for trade businesses. But they're not buying chaos. They're buying systems, contracts, and cash flow. If your business passes due diligence, you're positioned to take advantage of strong buyer demand.
What Happens Next
The 2025 data shows a market that rewards preparation. Businesses with clean books, documented processes, and diversified revenue closed faster and at higher multiples than those that didn't.
If you're thinking about selling in the next 12–24 months, the time to start is now. Not when you're ready to retire: when you're still running the business at full capacity and have time to fix the issues that tank deals.
We help trade business owners prepare for exits that actually close. Let's talk about where your business stands and what needs to happen before you go to market.