Sales Market

In the market for a pizzeria? Now's the time to buy

By Virginia K. Smith  | February 22, 2016 - 2:59PM
image

Normally we stick to the residential side of the real estate world, but given the stiff competition for good investment properties, it may be time for buyers to consider investing in another option: pizza.

Just as the market for commercial businesses has picked back up, a flood of baby boomers are looking to put their small businesses on the market and retire, Crain's reported last week. And the options on the market (including, yes, the occasional pizzeria) are solid bets, having managed to survive the wave of closures that swept through the recession.

Of course, prices reflect that value accordingly, and Crain's cites BizBuySell data showing a 40 percent increase in the median sales price of New York businesses between 2014 and 2015. (Inevitably, there also seems to be plenty of interest from foreign investors.) The takeaway: Interested buyers should get in on the market while the getting's still good.

It's an intriguing investment proposition—switching the dream of owning a multi-family to rent out to tenants to an already-thriving local business—though it also comes with a potential downside: If new investors snap up long-running businesses only to close them down and use the retail space for something more lucrative, that means saying goodbye to yet more NYC mom-and-pops. But still, haven't you always wanted to put your name in neon on the front of your neighborhood's slice shop?

Related

New must-have neighborhood amenity: a high-end food court?

Nom Wah's Wilson Tang on winning the affordable housing lottery, the best LES eateries, and more

Secrets of a 27-year-old condo flipper

Looking to make money off your home? What to know about multi-family homes in NYC

Brick Underground articles occasionally include the expertise of, or information about, advertising partners when relevant to the story. We will never promote an advertiser's product without making the relationship clear to our readers.

topics: