Insights H1 2026 | 43 “When interest rates are low, investors often favour residential property. As rates rise and returns soften, many start looking at buying a business as an alternative investment,” he said. “Interestingly, most business buyers today don’t rely heavily on borrowing. Only around 20-25% of business buyers require finance, meaning rate rises don’t impact our sector the same way they do residential property.” This is in stark contrast to 20 years ago, when as many as 85% of business buyers used finance to fund the transaction. “But then from 2010 through to about 2020, and certainly into COVID, you couldn’t borrow money to buy a business. So eventually many people buying a business had to pay cash.” Simon Winter simon.winter@sa.rhc.com.au Melanie Winter melanie.winter@sa.rhc.com.au For more information, contact: Simon adds that the post-COVID market is seeing a shift in vendor motivation, with many business owners now listing in preparation for retirement. “About 85–90% of sellers coming to market today are looking to retire. They’re typically motivated and often more flexible in negotiations.”
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