What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Asheville, NC Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
Across Asheville, the agency's approval files record 783 approved loans from FY2017 through FY2026, worth $496.8 million in gross approvals. Asheville stands across the full set of areas, on volume, at 125 of 928. The middle half of Asheville loans sits between $90,000 and $661,000, and a midpoint of $250,000; which puts the median at 1.20x the national median. In Asheville the program mix is 734 loans in 7(a) and 49 in 504. Franchises make up 12.5% of the loans.
Notably, among the named classes we track for Asheville, full-service restaurant stands on top with 60 loans, and then limited-service restaurant (26) and hotel and motel with 21. Also 552 loans in Asheville sit outside every class. County by county, Buncombe County, NC holds 570 loans, then Henderson County, NC (185) and Madison County, NC (28).
Holders named for Asheville are read from SBA's official Asheville records of the 783 loans in Asheville, naming each current or past holder; those records place each position though say nothing of what lenders require. For the record, among 7(a) loans in Asheville, the biggest holders are Mountain Bizcapital, Inc., holding 85 loans worth $11.0 million; after it, TD Bank, National Association, with 77 loans for $14.8 million. Under 504 in Asheville, SBA names Business Expansion Funding Corporation (27 loans, $23.6 million). An applicant near Buncombe County, NC can ask the Asheville holder Mountain Bizcapital, Inc. and any other Asheville holder near Buncombe County, NC what paperwork it requires, then fit the Asheville study around that.
Among Asheville approvals from FY2017 to FY2024, at least 10.6% ended in cancellation after approval in Asheville, a floor; the true Asheville rate may be higher. Besides, among disbursed Asheville loans approved in FY2017 to FY2021, 5.5% show as charged off by now, likewise a floor; 2.7% were written off within five years, across a group of 364 loans. By year, Asheville hit its high in FY2018 at 99 loans and $55.6 million, and bottomed out in FY2026 at 59 loans and $38.4 million.
Around Buncombe County, NC, demand comes first: who passes in Buncombe County, NC, who travels in Henderson County, NC, how that compares with the rest of Asheville, and how much room 60 full-service restaurant loans leave. Cost next: $250,000 is the Asheville median and $90,000 to $661,000 the middle band, so a Buncombe County, NC site should cost itself against that $250,000 midpoint. Repayment: Asheville repayment survives a soft year against the 10.6% rate of cancellation with the 5.5% charge-off floor. An appraisal in Asheville must back the worth assumed. Asheville uses the 2023 July definition; any loan whose county entry fails to match is excluded from each area, Asheville no exception, whereas the totals retain loans not in the classes named.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 783 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $496.8 million |
| Median loan | $250,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $90,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $661,000 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 734 |
| SBA 504 loans | 49 |
| Franchise share of loans | 12.5% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 125 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 1.20x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 10.6% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 12.4% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 5.5% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | 2.7% |
| Loans in that cohort | 364 |
Both rates are floors. SBA withholds the status of open loans, so a loan counts as charged off only once SBA reports it; a rate needs at least 30 loans in its cohort and is otherwise not reported.
SBA loans approved in the Asheville, NC Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 90 | $30.4 million |
| FY2018 | 99 | $55.6 million |
| FY2019 | 77 | $38.0 million |
| FY2020 | 76 | $61.7 million |
| FY2021 | 67 | $70.9 million |
| FY2022 | 68 | $48.9 million |
| FY2023 | 80 | $55.4 million |
| FY2024 | 82 | $50.8 million |
| FY2025 | 85 | $46.6 million |
| FY2026 | 59 | $38.4 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 552 |
| Full-service restaurant | 60 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 26 |
| Hotel and motel | 21 |
| Fitness center | 20 |
| Dental office | 13 |
| Coffee shop and snack bar | 12 |
| Child care center | 11 |
| Beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) | 9 |
| Beauty salon | 7 |
| Medical office (physicians) | 6 |
| Veterinary clinic | 5 |
| Data center | 5 |
Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Business Expansion Funding Corporation | 27 | $23.6 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain Bizcapital, Inc. | 85 | $11.0 million |
| TD Bank, National Association | 77 | $14.8 million |
| HomeTrust Bank | 46 | $36.1 million |
| Live Oak Banking Company | 42 | $58.4 million |
| Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 42 | $9.4 million |
Lenders with 5 or more loans here; a lender with fewer is not listed, and loans SBA or a receiver holds are counted but never listed as a lender.
| County | Loans |
|---|---|
| Buncombe County, NC | 570 |
| Henderson County, NC | 185 |
| Madison County, NC | 28 |
Counties with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are not listed.
Metro is the CBSA (metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area) of the loan's project county, July 2023 delineation (OMB Bulletin 23-01). The county is matched by name (manifests/ld2/county-cbsa-map.csv); a loan whose county cannot be placed in a 2023 CBSA is left out of every metro.
All assets: every 7(a) and 504 approval in the metro, including those outside the 39 asset classes.
A value marked withheld rests on fewer than 5 loans, or is withheld so that such a figure cannot be derived from other published figures.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) and 504 loan-level FOIA files (data.sba.gov), as of 2026-09-30; areas from the U.S. Census Bureau CBSA delineation, July 2023 (OMB Bulletin 23-01); Loan Analytics metro cell MT-11700.
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a hotel project in North Carolina, financed with a conventional bank loan.
Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the Asheville, NC Metro Area, financed under SBA 7(a), SBA 504, USDA Business and Industry or a conventional bank loan. Tell us the project and the lender's deadline, and we reply with scope, timeline and fee.
Start with the data.
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