Small businesses make up an important and effective piece of the US economy. Therefore, they also affect real estate and can be used as an effective tool in the real estate market.
According to Florida Realtors, U.S. Small Business Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet joined National Association of Realtors® (NAR) Chief Economist Lawrence Yun at an event that highlighted small business issues and commercial real estate.
“Commercial real estate plays a big role in supporting the national economy, contributing to job growth and the revitalization of communities,” said Yun. “For that work to continue, access to credit is critical.”
Yun calls the Small Business Administration (SBA) program “important to facilitating liquidity in the marketplace, connecting small businesses with lenders, and offering assistance when the general credit market freezes or disaster strikes.”
He is referring to SBA loan programs. They offer funding for commercial real estate when other options are not available.
According to NAR research, SBA loans provided one in 10 Realtors with commercial real estate funding in 2014. Also, 12 percent of Realtors utilized the SBA for their other resources.
Conteras-Sweet highlighted the use of electronic forms to cut down time on filings, as well the LINC program as an online platform that connects small businesses with SBA lenders.
Yun also noted that another reason the SBA is important to realtors is because they are small business owners themselves.
According to NAR’s 2015 Profile of Real Estate Firms, 80 percent of real estate firms have a single office, typically with two full-time real estate licensees. Firms with only one office had a median brokerage sales volume of $4.1 million in 2014.
SBA also offers low-interest disaster loans to small business owners. This is pertinent at the moment so soon after South Carolina’s heavy floods. According to recent NAR data, 5 percent of members who utilized SBA loan programs did so through a disaster loan.
If you are a small-business owner interested in one of the beautiful commercial properties available in Miami today and are curious about SBA funding, check out their website here and contact RE/MAX Paradise today!