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Appraising a Real Estate Office
How to Sell Your Business to Maximize Profit (Business News Daily, Aug. 13, 2024)
"Selling your business is a complex process with many challenges. A lot can go wrong before you close the deal, whether that’s failure to find a buyer, selling at too low a price, or running into a breach of confidentiality. But if you take the right steps to prepare for a successful sale and seamless transition, you can limit these risks. While the sale of every business is unique, the fundamental process remains the same, and there are well-established steps you must take. This guide offers five main steps you should follow to get you through the sale of your business and to get the best price."
How to Use EBITDA Multiples to Determine Your Business’s Sale Price (IAG, Mar. 3, 2024)
EBITDA multiples are instrumental in comparing profitability across different corporations and industries. For example, while a retail business might be valued at 3-4x EBITDA, a real estate firm could command a multiple as high as 14x EBITDA. Such comparisons are essential for those looking to sell a business, as they help in setting a competitive and fair sale price.
6 Things to Consider Before Selling Your Business (U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Apr. 12, 2023)
Some business owners choose to sell their company before they’re emotionally ready to let go; however, the sale shouldn’t proceed unless the owner is absolutely ready to transfer ownership. Don’t rush the process — after all, a lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into building the company from the ground up and forming relationships with team members and customers.
Here’s How Brokerage Valuation Works (RTC Valuations)
The bottom line is the unique characteristics of the residential brokerage industry support the use of a trailing 12 month basis for valuation. As such, brokerage valuations can wildly swing from year to year depending on a firm’s ability to effectively recruit, retain and develop agents, all the while being beholden to the state of the housing market. Certain normalization measures can be taken to preserve value, but it ultimately comes down to, “What have you done for me lately?
4 Simple Steps to Valuing Your Small Business (Business.com, Dec. 10, 2025)
Step 1: Prepare comprehensive, accurate financial statements; consult your records
Step 2: Consider intangible assets
Step 3: Review recent comparable business sales
Step 4: Seek professional appraisal and consider market feedback
Choosing a Business Appraiser (BizBuySell)
“Business appraisers have widely different backgrounds and different capabilities resulting from their unique experience and specialized educational background. Most business appraisers have a professional designation after their name that indicates the designations they have earned. The ones you are most likely to see that require serious study and actual appraisal experience are issued from reputable and recognized trade associations.”
The Institute of Business Appraisers
In valuing your business, consider working with an evaluation professional. The Institute of Business Appraisers offers a certified business appraiser (CBA) designation for those meeting the group’s education and performance criteria.
Selling Your Book of Business
4 Steps to Buy or Sell a Retiring Agent’s Real Estate Business (HomeLight, Aug. 3, 2022)
“Anyone who’s worked a good part of their adult life to build a business doesn’t just close up shop, lock the door, and walk away into the sunset to retire on an island, leaving all of their assets behind and customers lined up at the door, earnestly, waiting to get inside. No. Now, that would be insane. What they do is leverage the value of what they have built while creating an opportunity for someone else to benefit from their hard work–by selling that business. As real estate agents, we’re no different. Of course, not all of us own a brokerage and lead a team, but that certainly doesn’t make our business any less valuable.”
How to Sell a Book of Business (BizBuySell)
“When you sell a business that manufactures or sells physical products, it’s easy to see what you’re selling. But the business of a professional services provider isn’t based on products. It’s based on client relationships. So, how do you sell your business when its biggest asset is intangible? For financial advisors, insurance brokers, accountants, real estate agents/brokers, and other providers of professional services, the answer is often selling a book of business.”
What is my Book of Business Worth? (California Broker Magazine, Jun. 1, 2023)
“Determining the value of a book of business requires outlining specific information unique to each situation, defined by each seller and buyer in a given scenario. Planning is important for all brokers. Knowing the value of your book of business is helpful. Documenting your succession plan in writing is required. It is important to understand the process of determining the value of your book of business not only when you need to sell but also when you plan to stay active.”
Close or Sell Your Business (U.S. Small Business Administration)
SBA provides information on planning your exit, steps to closing a business, selling your business, transferring ownership, and more.
Selling Your Website
Sell Your Website: Proven Steps to Maximize Your Sale (Bluehost, Jan. 13, 2026)
Before selling your website, it’s important to consider ways to make it more valuable to potential buyers. This could involve simplifying processes, increasing traffic, boosting revenue, optimizing content for search engines, and improving the site’s design. By addressing any issues and building on its strengths, you can attract more customers and get a higher price for your website.
How to Sell a Website for Maximum Profit (Hostinger Tutorials, Jan. 13, 2026)
“Selling websites is a profitable way to make money online. A site can be worth 20 to 50 times its monthly net profit. However, without careful planning and timing, you might miss out on getting maximum profit. Thus, before you sell your website and start a new online business, learning how to optimize it and what makes it valuable is essential.”
Succession Planning
The US Real Estate Industry Workforce Faces a Retirement Cliff (Deloitte, May 29, 2024)
Real estate organizations should act on the impending retirement cliff now and prioritize fortifying their talent pipelines. This will likely require proactive board-level succession planning, attention to growing and developing younger leaders, and investment in the right technologies that can identify or fill in where potential control failures may exist should key stakeholders retire. Collectively, these efforts can help the industry move forward and bridge the transition to the next generation of real estate.
How to Win the Succession Game (Chicago Agent Magazine, May 2, 2022)
“There are a number of resources through Realtor associations and brokerages on how to develop a succession plan, but there is no one-size-fits-all solution, and specialists in the field are few and far between. Nick Krautter, author of “The Golden Handoff: How to Buy and Sell a Real Estate Agent’s Business” and CEO of Portland, Oregon-based City & State Real Estate, bought his first book of business from an outgoing agent in 2010 and over the next few years, added several more to his roster. “When I started doing this, I assumed everyone was doing it,” he said, noting that he was surprised to learn how little guidance there was available for succession planning.”
Succession Planning for Real Estate Brokerages (National Association of REALTORS®)
“Succession planning is an important issue for all real estate brokerage firms to consider. Having an emergency plan will help protect the firm’s clients and assets if the managing broker becomes unexpectedly incapacitated. A planned succession will allow the firm to seamlessly transition existing business to a new business broker, but the process for transferring the listings will vary by state.”
Succession Planning for Commercial Real Estate Firms (NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association, May 2025)
“Preparing and implementing a plan to transfer control of a firm to a new generation of leaders can be a daunting prospect for business owners and senior executives in any industry. It can take years of careful planning to develop a blueprint that will satisfy current and future leaders and support a firm’s long-term success. Leaders of commercial real estate (CRE) companies often face additional, unique challenges due to their firms’ complex valuation processes, intricate tax strategies and multifaceted ownership structures. The NAIOP Research Foundation commissioned this study to explore the challenges and opportunities associated with succession planning for CRE firms. The study draws on Wipfli’s experience advising firms on succession planning and interviews with CRE professionals at various stages of the succession planning process who represent a broad cross-section of CRE firms.”
What Small and Mid-Sized Real Estate Companies Should Know About Succession Planning (Urban Land Institute, Oct. 4, 2024)
“One of the major reasons many family-owned real estate companies don’t survive past the first or second generation is a lack of succession planning. In theory, it’s great to think about “grooming” an existing team member to take over the senior role someday. In reality, succession poses a serious challenge with far-reaching implications, especially for small and mid-sized companies. Few firms can afford to hire a deep bench of potential successors, and if a preferred person doesn’t work out, finding a replacement can be daunting…It can be a tricky environment to navigate, and the impact on the bottom line can be harsh if it’s botched. But dealing with it successfully, up front and with candor, helps ensure the incoming leader will be well primed to take over and continue building on the predecessor’s legacy.”
Succession Exit Planning for Individuals, Teams, and Brokers (VIDEO) (National Association of REALTORS®, Oct. 16, 2019)
“Succession planning is an important business practice for brokerages, teams, and even individual agents. Whether it is an emergency plan or an exit strategy, careful planning will go a long way toward protecting assets, avoiding disruptions, servicing current and future clients, and providing financial stability for retirement, business colleagues, and heirs. Watch this discussion of issues, resources, tips, and strategies to protect and transition the business you have fostered and are still building.”
eBooks & Other Resources
eBooks.realtor.org
The following eBooks and digital audiobooks are available to NAR members:
The Art of Selling Your Business (Audiobook)
Business Valuation and Taxes (eBook)
Business Valuation for Dummies® (eBook)
Buying and Selling a Business: A Step-by-Step Guide (eBook)
Career Planning and Succession Management (eBook)
Effective Succession Planning (eBook)
Exiting Your Business, Protecting Your Wealth (eBook)
Inside CEO Succession: The Essential Guide to Leadership Transition (eBook)
Journal of Property Investment & Finance, Volume 34, Issue 6 (eBook)
Selling Your Business for Dummies® (eBook)
Selling With Certainty (eBook)
Succession Exit Transition (eBook)
The Market Approach to Valuing Businesses (eBook)
The Small Business Valuation Book: Easy-to-use Techniques That Will Help You... Determine a Fair Price, negotiate Terms, Minimize Taxes (eBook)
Valuing a Business (eBook)
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