Outlook for the “Main Street” M&A Market — Q3 2025

DealStream has conducted its third quarter 2025 Market Survey, collecting responses from 580 active participants in the business-for-sale marketplace. As one of the world’s largest online platforms connecting buyers, sellers, and intermediaries, DealStream offers a real-time view of the dynamics shaping small-business transactions.

Defining the “Main Street” M&A Market

The “Main Street” M&A market represents the low end of the mergers and acquisitions spectrum, where businesses are typically valued at $5 million or less. This highly active segment — driven largely by independent owners and small operators — includes businesses like gas stations, restaurants, convenience stores, and local service providers. Unlike middle-market or large-cap transactions, “Main Street” deals are usually facilitated by business brokers, real estate brokers, and small intermediaries who specialize in connecting individual buyers and sellers.

DealStream is uniquely positioned to survey and analyze this market. With thousands of members using our platform to buy, sell, and broker deals, we have a direct lens into the sentiment among the people shaping this space every day.

Key Findings at a Glance

Based on responses from buyers, sellers, and intermediaries, the Q3 2025 survey reveals a relatively balanced but cautious marketplace. Here’s the consensus:

• Current economic conditions are normal 
• Current market leans towards buyers
• Business prices are expected to remain stable or trend downward
• Deal volume is likely to increase 
• Financing will become more difficult to obtain

Here’s a detailed look at who took the survey and what they told us.

 

Survey Respondents: Demographics

Q: Are you currently looking to buy a business?

Survey Results

Yes: 75% · No: 25%

Q: Are you currently looking to sell a business?

Survey Results

Yes: 19% · No: 81%

Q: Are you an intermediary (business broker, real estate broker, or investment banker)?

Survey Results

Yes: 20% · No: 80%

Here’s a closer look at how the survey respondent’s roles overlap:

 

A majority of respondents — three out of four — identified as buyers, while just under one in five reported they were currently selling a business. Another 20% said they were intermediaries, such as brokers or investment bankers, with some respondents wearing multiple hats across categories. For example, more than 50 participants indicated they were both buyers and intermediaries, reflecting the fluid roles many professionals play in the marketplace.

 

Survey Results

Now that we’ve covered who participated in the survey, let’s dive into what they had to say. The next sections break down how buyers, sellers, and intermediaries view today’s market — from the economy and pricing expectations to deal volume and financing outlook.

Economic Conditions: A Market in Balance

Q: How do you rate current conditions in the overall economy?

Survey results
Good: 23.4% · Normal: 50.8% · Bad: 25.8%

Takeaway
The split here is telling. With just over half of respondents rating overall economic conditions as “normal,” the market is viewed as neither especially strong nor especially weak. The nearly even split between those who see things as “good” versus “bad” highlights the uneven recovery across industries. This “middle ground” outlook suggests respondents are adapting: pursuing deals where opportunities arise, but mindful of risks in a still-shaky environment.

 

Buyers vs. Sellers: The Advantage Leans Towards Buyers

Q: Do you think the current market is more favorable for people looking to buy businesses or sell businesses?

Survey results
Better for buyers: 33.1% · Neutral: 48.4% · Better for sellers: 18.6%

Takeaway
A third of respondents believe current market conditions favor buyers, compared to fewer than one in five who see an advantage for sellers. The high “neutral” share (nearly half of respondents) suggests that while the advantage leans towards buyers, the market isn’t uniformly one-sided. 

 

Price Expectations: Flat to Downward Pressure

Q: Do you expect the selling prices of businesses to rise or fall over the next 6 months?

Survey results
Rise: 22.7% · Stay the same: 38.9% · Fall: 38.4%

Takeaway
Expectations about pricing are split, but more respondents anticipate declines in selling prices than increases. Notably, nearly 40% expect stability in prices. 

 

Transaction Volume: Deal Activity Poised to Pick Up

Q: Do you expect the number of businesses sold to rise or fall over the next 6 months?

Survey results
Rise: 47.1% · Stay the same: 34.3% · Fall: 18.6%

 

Takeaway
Nearly half of respondents expect the number of businesses sold to increase over the next six months — a surprising finding given that the next consensus points to tighter financing conditions. Traditionally, tighter credit conditions tend to dampen deal activity, making this anticipated rise in transaction volume particularly noteworthy.

 

Financing Remains the Wildcard

Q: Do you expect it to become harder or easier for buyers to obtain financing over the next 6 months?

Survey results
Become harder: 44.3% · Stay the same: 34.1% · Become easier: 21.6%

Takeaway
Nearly half of respondents expect lending conditions to tighten further. The silver lining: more than one in five respondents still expect financing conditions to ease, suggesting optimism that lenders will gradually adapt to market realities.

 

Deeper Dive: Cross Tab Analysis

Beyond the topline numbers, the Q3 2025 survey reveals important role-based differences that shape the dynamics of the “Main Street” M&A market. Buyers, sellers, and intermediaries each bring distinct perspectives influenced by their priorities, risks, and goals in the transaction process. By comparing responses across roles, we uncover where viewpoints converge and where they diverge — offering a clearer picture of who sees opportunity, who’s cautious, and why.

1. Role x Economic Outlook

To better understand how market participants view the broader economic environment, we analyzed sentiment by role — comparing buyers, sellers, and intermediaries. This breakdown reveals how each group’s position in the business-for-sale marketplace shapes their confidence in current economic conditions.

 

The results highlight a clear divide in perspective. Buyers are the most confident, with over half (52.5%) rating the economy as “normal” and nearly a quarter viewing it as “good.” Intermediaries, on the other hand, show a more mixed sentiment — 25% rate conditions as “good,” but they also express the highest level of pessimism at 32.5%. Sellers lean more cautious than buyers, with nearly one-third viewing conditions negatively, though almost half still describe the environment as “normal.”

 

2. Role x Market Advantage

To understand how different participants view negotiating power in today’s business-for-sale environment, we analyzed responses by role — comparing buyers, sellers, and intermediaries. This cross-tabulation shows how closely perceptions of market leverage align with where respondents sit in the transaction process.

 

The results reveal a clear consensus: most respondents believe the market favors buyers, even among sellers themselves. Nearly 45% of sellers agree that buyers hold the upper hand, while only 13.8% believe sellers currently have the advantage. Buyers and intermediaries are closely aligned, with about one-third in each group also seeing conditions as better for buyers, but roughly half of both groups view the market as neutral — suggesting they see balance despite tightening financing conditions.

 

3. Role x Price Expectations

To capture how different roles perceive the direction of business valuations, we cross-tabulated price expectations by whether respondents identified as buyers, sellers, or intermediaries. This view reveals how motivations and vantage points shape outlooks for the next 6 months.

 

The divergence is clear. Buyers anticipate downward pressure, with 40.7% expecting prices to fall. Sellers, by contrast, are the most stable-minded, with more than half (55.4%) expecting valuations to hold steady. Intermediaries land in between, with 28.4% anticipating rising prices and roughly one-third expecting declines. The split highlights how expectations are tied to position: buyers prepare for discounts, sellers hope for stability, and intermediaries balance both perspectives while spotting opportunities for upside.

 

4. Role x Expected Deal Volume

To gauge market sentiment around transaction activity, we analyzed expectations for deal volume over the next six months across buyers, sellers, and intermediaries. This breakdown highlights how each group’s position in the business-for-sale marketplace shapes their outlook on whether more deals will close in the near term.

 

The data shows an uneven outlook. Buyers are the most bullish, with nearly half (49.4%) expecting the number of businesses sold to rise. Intermediaries are somewhat bullish as well — 42.5% predict rising deal volume — but they express more caution than buyers, with over a quarter (26.2%) anticipating declines. Sellers are the most conservative in their expectations, with nearly half (46.2%) anticipating activity to hold steady and just 36.9% anticipating growth in completed transactions.

 

5. Role x Financing Outlook

Financing conditions remain one of the most important factors shaping the business-for-sale marketplace. To better understand how sentiment varies by role, we analyzed expectations from buyers, sellers, and intermediaries on whether obtaining financing will become harder, easier, or remain unchanged over the next six months. The results reveal significant differences in outlook based on where participants sit in the transaction process.

 

The data highlights growing concerns around tightening credit and rising borrowing costs. Intermediaries are the most concerned, with 53.8% expecting financing to become harder — a reflection of their vantage point advising across multiple transactions and seeing lending challenges firsthand. Sellers also lean cautious, with nearly half (46.2%) anticipating stricter lending conditions, a dynamic that could limit buyer pools and put downward pressure on valuations.

Buyers, however, are somewhat more optimistic: while 42.3% still expect financing to get harder, 23% believe conditions will improve — the highest optimism of any group. This divide suggests that well-capitalized buyers see opportunity in the current environment, while intermediaries and sellers remain wary of potential disruptions to deal flow if credit markets tighten further.

Taken together, these results underscore that financing is the key wildcard in the months ahead. 

 

Bottom Line

The Q3 2025 survey paints a picture of a stable but active “Main Street” M&A market. While financing challenges remain, pricing is holding steady, deal volume is expected to increase, and overall sentiment signals opportunity for both buyers and sellers.

Consensus Findings

• Current economy is normal
• Market balance leans towards buyers
• Business prices are likely to stay the same or trend downward 
• Deal volume is expected to rise 
• Financing is expected to become more difficult to obtain

What This Means for Buyers and Sellers

Based on the survey results, the market sends a green light for both buyers and sellers. In short, the months ahead look healthy and active for both sides of the market, provided participants remain strategic and prepared.

Whether you’re preparing to buy, sell, or broker your next transaction, now is the time to act decisively. Update your DealStream profile, refine your acquisition or exit strategy, and stay ahead of the curve. The deals are out there — make sure you're ready when they find you.

 

We’d Love Your Feedback

DealStream values your insights and wants to hear your thoughts on these findings.

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Your input helps us deliver more value to buyers, sellers, and brokers navigating the “Main Street” M&A market.