Feasibility Study Data for the Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA Metro Area

Parishes, not counties

Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux is built from Louisiana's parishes: Terrebonne Parish has 98 loans and Lafourche Parish 37. SBA approved 135 loans across FY2017 to FY2026, $91.3 million gross, rank 399 of 928; 123 are 7(a) and 12 are 504. Houma puts its median at $300,000. Houma is 1.44x the national figure. For Houma, half of loans run $100,000 to $807,500. Brands hold 17.0% of the count.

Limited-service restaurant leads the asset table at 14 loans, with hotel and motel at 7 and dental office at 6; 88 loans sit outside the classes. A limited-service study should test counter and drive-through traffic, delivery commissions and whether royalties and rent leave room for the debt. FY2017 had only 9 loans and $1.8 million, the low of the span; FY2025 peaked at 18 loans and $7.3 million; FY2026 ended at 15 loans and $11.3 million, the largest dollar year.

Lenders for Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux

South Louisiana Bank holds 17 loans and $2.8 million under 7(a), Northeast Bank (ME) 11 loans and $1.3 million and Live Oak Banking Company 7 loans and $11.1 million, a name with few loans but large dollars. Houma lists no 504 lender. Houma lists rest on SBA's holder records. Houma names hold or held these loans. Houma counts are volume, and Houma counts promise no lender requirement.

Houma floors and the study

Houma: cancelled after approval at least 7.8% of Houma's approvals. The Houma window is FY2017 to FY2024. Houma omits its ceiling; too few Houma loans back it. Houma reports no charge-off rate. Too few Houma loans back one; Houma is not a zero. Open Houma loans may raise every Houma floor. Houma is a county roll-up. Houma applies the July 2023 delineation. Houma matches each county by name. Houma omits loans whose counties fail to place. Houma still counts approvals outside named classes. Houma work should name the parish first. It should then prove demand, cost the project honestly, stress debt service on thin revenue, and finally compare value with nearby sales. Because the record has so few named classes beyond limited-service restaurant, hotel and dental office, a study should build its case from the specific business and not from a class benchmark. Houma studies come from Loan Analytics. Houma studies are signed by Daniel Smith, MAI.