BizSugar.com › Strategy › Asking prices for small businesses on the decline

To all the usual reasons that small businesses are put up for sale, add economic woes this year. But even as for-sale listings rise around the country, so is buyer interest.

The problem for owners is that prices appear to be softening.

Brokers say buyers are often retirees looking for a second act, or laid-off executives looking for a business to run.

Pinpointing what is happening to sales prices nationwide is difficult because data are diffuse and unreliable.

But listing sites and brokers around the country say sellers have become more flexible about price.

One reason is that a crucial small business financing tool, home equity lines of credit, has been drying up as house values fall.