Furniture stores took 333 SBA 7(a) loans from October 2023 to June 2026, about $178 million from 103 lenders. The median loan was $250,000, well above the $150,300 national median, at a median rate of 10.5% against 10.25%. SBA 504 added 61 projects at a median of $1,318,000, a sign that many stores own their showroom. Purchases were 47 loans, 14.1% of the total, at a median of $715,000 and 9.5%. Lenders focus on the real estate, customer deposits on special orders, and how sales hold up when housing slows.
| Measure | Furniture Retailers | All industries |
|---|---|---|
| SBA 7(a) loans approved | 333 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $250,000 | $150,300 |
| Middle half of loans | $100,000 – $500,000 | $50,000 – $500,000 |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 12.9% | 12.9% |
| Median rate at approval | 10.5% | 10.25% |
| Middle half of rates | 9.5% – 11.5% | 9.3% – 11.25% |
| Acquisitions (change of ownership) | 47 (14.1%) | 16,849 (10.4%) |
| Median acquisition loan | $715,000 | $693,000 |
| Lenders that made these loans | 103 | 1,648 |
| SBA 504 loans (real estate, equipment) | 61 | 16,714 |
Approvals FY2024 – FY2026 to date (1 Oct 2023 – 30 Jun 2026), cancelled loans excluded. Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan records, as of June 30, 2026.
- SBA 7(a) loans approved
- 333 (Oct 2023 – Jun 2026), 103 lenders
- Median loan
- $250,000 (national $150,300)
- Median rate at approval
- 10.5% (national 10.25%)
- Store purchases
- 47 loans (14.1%), median $715,000 at 9.5%
- SBA 504
- 61 loans, median $1,318,000
- Loans of $1 million or more
- 43 (12.9%)
Bigger loans, and more buildings
Furniture retailers (NAICS 449110) took 333 SBA 7(a) loans from FY2024 through June 2026, worth $177,976,800, from 103 lenders. These are home furniture stores, mattress stores, outdoor and patio furniture dealers, and office furniture showrooms. A furniture store needs floor space, a warehouse and delivery trucks, and the loans are sized accordingly: the median of $250,000 is two-thirds larger than the national median.
| Figure | Furniture stores | National | What it suggests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median loan | $250,000 | $150,300 | Showroom, warehouse and stock needs |
| Middle half of loans | $100,000 to $500,000 | Only the smallest quarter falls below $100,000 | |
| Top tenth starts at | $1,262,400 | Buildings and store purchases | |
| Median rate | 10.5% | 10.25% | A quarter point over |
| Middle half of rates | 9.5% to 11.5% | ||
| Store purchases | 47 (14.1%), median $715,000 | 10.4% of loans | An active market for established stores |
| Start-ups | 11.1% | ||
| SBA Express | 28.2% | Under a third; most loans went through standard 7(a) | |
| SBA 504 | 61 loans, median $1,318,000 | Owner-occupied showrooms |
The 504 figure is the one to notice. Sixty-one 504 projects sit alongside 333 7(a) loans, nearly one for every five, and the 504 median of $1,318,000 is more than five times the 7(a) median. A furniture store that owns its building usually owns a large one: showroom floor, a warehouse behind it and a loading dock. When it does, the real estate is often the largest single thing a lender is financing, and the loan is underwritten as much on the building's appraisal as on the store's earnings.
The showroom: 504, 7(a), or leave it out
A store that buys or refinances its building has three broad choices. Which fits depends on whether the purchase is only real estate, or real estate with a business, and on how much cash the owner wants to keep in the store.
| Route | How it is built | Fits when |
|---|---|---|
| SBA 504 | Typically 50% bank, 40% CDC, 10% borrower (15% for a new business or special-purpose property, 20% for both) | The project is the building or long-life equipment, and the store occupies at least 51% of it |
| SBA 7(a) with real estate | One loan; the real estate share runs up to 25 years, goodwill and working capital up to 10 | A purchase of the business and its building together, or real estate plus other needs |
| Owner holds the building in a separate company | The store leases from its owner; the business loan covers only the business | The owner wants the real estate outside the operating company's credit |
Under 7(a), a loan that mixes real estate and goodwill carries a blended maturity; see SBA blended maturity. From 1 October 2026 a change-of-ownership loan amortizes over no more than 10 years except the real estate share. A store in a building that is larger than it needs can lease out the rest, but it must occupy at least 51% of an existing building for 504. See SBA 7(a) vs SBA 504 and 504 vs a conventional commercial mortgage.
Customer deposits and consumer financing
Most furniture stores sell a large share of their goods by special order: the customer chooses a sofa and a fabric, pays a deposit, and waits for it to be built and shipped. The deposit sits on the balance sheet as a liability until delivery. A store with a large deposit balance is, in effect, funding its inventory with its customers' money. That works while orders keep coming. When orders slow, deposits shrink, and the store has to find that cash elsewhere.
Lenders therefore read a furniture store's working capital with deposits in view. They look at the deposit balance over the year, how long orders take to deliver, and whether cash in the bank at any month-end is really the store's or its customers'. A buyer taking over a store inherits the obligation to deliver every open order, which is why a purchase needs a clear agreement on who funds the deposits already taken; see working capital at close.
In a furniture store, the cash balance and the customer-deposit balance should be read together. One without the other is misleading.
Many stores also offer customers promotional financing through a third-party finance company, which pays the store the sale price less a discount. That discount is a real cost of sales and lenders look for it in the P&L; a store that shows gross margin before the financing discount looks healthier than it is. Some stores run an in-house credit program instead. Receivables from consumers are a different and weaker asset than receivables from businesses, and few lenders will lend against them.
Inventory, the warehouse and the trucks
A furniture store's owned inventory is floor samples, warehouse stock and goods in transit. Floor samples lose value the longer they stand on the floor and are usually sold at a discount; warehouse stock can be damaged in handling. Inventory typically advances at up to 85% of net orderly liquidation value, or roughly half of cost, and bulky goods are expensive to move in a liquidation, so lenders give furniture inventory limited weight. Imported goods add lead time and freight cost that a lender will ask about when margins have moved.
Delivery trucks and warehouse equipment are collateral in their own right and can be financed separately; see equipment financing vs SBA 7(a). A store that borrows every year before its busy seasons is usually better served by a line of credit than a term loan; see seasonal lines of credit.
Buying a furniture store
Buyers took 47 loans, 14.1% of the industry's total against 10.4% nationally, at a median of $715,000 and 9.5%. Established furniture stores are often family businesses sold at retirement, sometimes with the building. Loans above $350,000 fall in SBA's lowest variable rate-cap band, the base rate plus 3%, which helps explain the lower purchase rate.
- Real estate or lease. Whether the building is in the deal, leased from the seller, or leased from a third party changes the loan, the valuation and the term. See buying a business with its real estate.
- Open orders and deposits. Listed, with the deposits either left in the business or credited to the buyer at closing.
- Vendor lines. Manufacturers often grant dealer territories to a store, not a person. Lenders ask whether the key lines stay.
- The valuation. Where the amount financed, less appraised real estate and equipment, exceeds $250,000, SBA requires an independent business valuation, and the loan for the purchase cannot exceed it.
SBA's change-of-ownership rules apply: an equity injection of at least 10% of total project costs, a seller note counting toward up to half of it only on full standby for the life of the loan, no earnout, and a seller who may consult for up to 12 months, or up to 24 months under SOP 50 10 8.1 from 1 October 2026. From 1 October 2026 the purchase must show debt service coverage of 1.25x on historical results. Furniture sales track home sales and moves, so a lender will look at how the store did in slower housing years.
Preparing a furniture store's file
SBA's list is the base: business tax returns for 2–3 years, a P&L and balance sheet with a year-to-date P&L through last month-end, a debt schedule with copies of notes being refinanced, and personal tax returns and a personal financial statement for each owner of 20% or more. Add what a furniture underwriter will ask for:
- Monthly sales and customer deposits for the last two years
- An inventory report split into floor samples, warehouse stock and goods in transit
- Consumer financing agreements and the discounts paid
- The deed and any appraisal, or the lease
- A list of trucks and warehouse equipment, with any liens
Transparent builds the full lender package, meaning a financing model, lender presentation, blind teaser and underwriting memo, in a day once the documents are in, and takes it to the 278 SBA 7(a) and 504 lenders in its book, or to conventional lenders where the building makes a bank loan the better fit. See the package.
Common questions
- Should a furniture store use SBA 504 or 7(a) to buy its building?
- 504 suits a project that is mainly the building; 7(a) suits a purchase that combines the building with the business or other needs. 504 typically needs 10% down from the borrower and requires the store to occupy at least 51% of an existing building.
- Do customer deposits hurt my loan application?
- Not by themselves. Lenders read them as a liability funded by customers, and they want to see that the store's cash covers its open orders. A falling deposit balance is an early sign of slower orders.
- What rate do furniture stores pay on SBA loans?
- The median rate at approval from October 2023 to June 2026 was 10.5%, against 10.25% nationally, with the middle half between 9.5% and 11.5%. Store purchases priced at a median of 9.5%.
- Can I use an SBA loan to buy a furniture store and its building together?
- Yes. A 7(a) loan can finance both, with the real estate share on a longer term than the goodwill. SBA 7(a) loans go up to $5 million; larger combined purchases can pair a 7(a) loan for the business with a 504 loan for the building, and since July 2026 the two programs' limits are counted separately.
- Does the discount I pay a consumer finance company matter to lenders?
- Yes. It is a cost of every financed sale. Lenders want margin shown after it, and a store that leans heavily on financed sales will be asked how that affects its cash flow.