Bounce Explains Business Sales Increase In October

The October sales rate for small and mid-market businesses in California was substantially higher than the number recorded the month before, according to results tracked by BizBen businesses for sale in California.

What we witnessed was a 'bounce' rather than a lasting trend - the 2,323 closings in October 2008 nearly doubled the 1,187 transactions recorded in the previous month, and represent a 15.6% increase on the 2,009 business sales booked in October 2007.

A number of deals that started in the summer were delayed during the following months due to the distractions we experienced in August and September - the 'bounce' in October indicates that several transactions finally were able to close.

My prediction is that we're not out of the woods yet. I expect we'll see a slowdown in business activity through the rest of the year, which is traditionally a period of fewer transactions because of the holidays.

Most of the state's large counties showed a boost in completed escrows in October over the numbers recorded in September 2008. Los Angeles County closed 671 deals, compared to 278 the prior month; San Diego's figure was 293 vs. 186; Santa Clara registered 151 transactions vs. 39; San Francisco's numbers were 75 in October, and 58 in September, while Orange County posted a figure of 216, vs. 152 the prior month.

BizBen reported the number of small business sales completed in October 2008, shown by California county, as follows: Alameda 73; Amador 2; Butte 9; Calaveras 5; Contra Costa 51; El Dorado 13; Fresno 34; Glenn 1; Humboldt 6; Imperial 2; Inyo 2; Kern 29; Kings 1; Lassen 3; Los Angeles 671; Madera 1; Marin 16; Mendocino 4; Merced 10; Modoc 1; Monterey 26; Napa 11; Nevada 5; Orange 216; Placer 33; Riverside 62; Sacramento 78; San Bernardino 125; San Diego 293; San Francisco 75; San Joaquin 33; San Luis Obispo 12; San Mateo 35; Santa Barbara 25; Santa Clara 151; Santa Cruz 9; Solano 26; Sonoma 32; Stanislaus 25; Sutter 13; Tehama 1; Tulare 46; Tuolumne 7; Ventura 36; Yolo 14.