Auto Repair Shop Feasibility Study in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC Metro Area

Hampton Roads shops and a high location quotient

Around Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Norfolk, mechanical repair places fourth locally, 4 of 39, and a location quotient of 1.59x says shops draw a larger slice of lending here than they do nationwide. The metro is 42 of 660 on the national class table. It logged 54 loans and $22.3 million across FY2017 to FY2026. Its midpoint loan, $322,400, is 1.37x the national midpoint, while the middle of the distribution runs from $150,000 up to $528,850.

By program the 54 loans divide into 40 on SBA 7(a) and 14 on SBA 504, and franchise flags cover 31.5%, a sizable minority that likely reflects national brand shops. Truck work and car repair share a single code, and body, paint, interior and glass shops are filed elsewhere, so these figures describe mechanical work alone; any study should name its bay type.

Where the loans sit

County rows here are Virginia independent cities: Virginia Beach city, VA leads with 23 loans, followed by Newport News city, VA with 8 and both Chesapeake city, VA and Suffolk city, VA with 6. The metro reaches into North Carolina, though no North Carolina row is among those named. No lender has enough loans to be listed for this cell, so none is.

Hampton Roads cancellation touched 17.0% at minimum across FY2017 to FY2024 approvals, a floor while reporting continues. SBA keeps back the ceiling and any charge-off rate, having too few loans to publish them. Printed years run FY2017 (11 loans, $3.1 million), FY2018 (6, $3.8 million), FY2020 (9, $2.1 million), FY2021 (5, $2.5 million) and FY2022 (6, $3.4 million). Nothing after FY2022 prints, so recent activity cannot be read from this page. Loans land in the metro through their project county under the July 2023 delineation.

Hampton Roads: the shop study

The work begins by counting vehicles in the trade area, a large military and commuter population among them, and testing the balance between routine maintenance and heavier repair. Real estate, lifts and diagnostic equipment need to be costed against the $322,400 midpoint, with bay throughput carrying debt service coverage. Valuation treats the shop as a business and the property as real estate, each on its own. Daniel Smith, MAI, stands behind the Loan Analytics report; whether a lender approves is the lender's call.