Flex Space Feasibility Study in New York

Cheap loans, uneven history

New York flex space is a modest-ticket class that ranks high nationally and low inside the state. From FY2017 to FY2026 the record shows 55 loans worth $38.0 million. The class is 8 of 51 across the states but only 21 of 39 within New York, and its location quotient of 0.57x is well under the national weight. The distinctive metric is the median: $281,000 is just 0.47x the nationwide median here, while the central half of loans falls between $136,500 and $746,150, so these are small loans for a class built around buildings.

Lenders and geography

Of the 55 loans, 49 went through SBA 7(a) and 6 through SBA 504, and none carries a franchise flag, at 0.00%. Only Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company appears in the lender table, holding 13 loans worth $3.1 million as the current holder SBA reports. By county, Nassau has 6 loans, Monroe and Suffolk 5 each, and Erie, Queens and Wyoming 4 each, with Albany, Herkimer, Onondaga and Orange at 2.

The record thins out

Approvals reached 10 loans in FY2017, held at 5 for each of FY2018 to FY2020, and rose to 9 loans worth $12.3 million in FY2021, then 11 loans and $5.6 million in FY2023. FY2024 and FY2025 each carry just 2 loans, with $1.1 million and $250,000, and FY2026, a complete fiscal year, shows none. The reason is a rule change: from FY2024 SBA treats most lessor businesses as passive and therefore ineligible, so the fade reflects eligibility and should not be read as a signal about New York property.

Cancellations and a withheld rate

Approvals made over FY2017 to FY2024 lost at least 13.2% to cancellation, and a strict count of unfunded loans gives the same share. This page gives no charge-off rate for flex space, because that early disbursed group holds fewer than 30 loans, and Loan Analytics withholds a rate on a cohort that small; the missing number must not be read as zero.

What the study must test

The study has to demonstrate who leases small flexible bays in the specific submarket and at what rent, because income from tenants decides whether the loan can be repaid. With a median close to $281,000, a project is likely a small building or a leasehold improvement, so purchase price per square foot against income decides feasibility. Run debt service with a vacancy case and with slower re-leasing. The appraiser will treat the property as income real estate, and since the code also holds office, retail and banquet hall lessors, a flex-only comparison is not available in the SBA data.