Feasibility Study Data for the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metro Area

What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.

The approval picture in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach

17,898 SBA loans for projects in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL between FY2017 to FY2026 come to $9.28 billion gross. For context, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach places 4 of 928 within the full set of CBSAs by loan count. In addition, $177,000 stands as the middle loan; the inner half extends from $60,000 to $500,000. Then, the area median comes to 0.85x in proportion to the nation's median, so tickets run less than the figure for the nation. Next, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach is limited to loans from its own counties, and never a whole state's average: 17,898 loans overall.

7(a), 504 and the lender list for Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach

15,941 loans under 7(a) accompany 1,957 SBA 504 loans. 6.4% of the loans carry franchisees here. Within 7(a) approvals, the top names by loans appear as TD Bank, National Association booking 3,917 loans worth $475.1 million, Wells Fargo Bank National Association holding 1,052 loans and $161.1 million, followed by Newtek Bank, National Association booking 919 loans worth $386.7 million. Separately, under 504, the top program intermediaries by number come out as Florida Business Development Corporation booking 1,017 loans and $945.9 million followed by Florida First Capital Finance Corporation, Inc. holding 860 loans totalling $1.03 billion. The names here come from SBA data covering 17,898 loans; they record completed approvals only, and in no way the standards that lenders apply around Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach.

Classes, counties and the unclassified bulk in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach

447 for full-service restaurant, 311 for medical office, 297 for limited-service restaurant, followed by 266 in child care center come first among the classes in the file. For context, 14,688 approvals fall apart from all named classes, so the 17,898-loan file reaches beyond any class table. 9 approvals in hospital across Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach make too small a base for any claim. Here, County by county, Miami-Dade County (8,680), Broward County (5,263), then Palm Beach County (3,955) come first. In practice, year by year, FY2017 opens at 1,469 loans and $625.1 million; FY2025 is the busiest year at 2,760 loans and $1.35 billion, then FY2026, a part year, completes the file at 1,894 loans and $1.15 billion.

The outcome floors in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach

12.8% of FY2017 through FY2024 approvals in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach have been cancelled after approval before funding, which is a floor; 14.4% is the upper bound counting undisbursed loans. Then, 13.0% of FY2017 through FY2021 disbursed loans in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach were charged off to date, which is a floor; 7.3% went to charge-off inside five years after approval, out of 6,111 loans. Take each percentage printed here as a lower bound, because loans approved lately have had scant opportunity to fall through or default, and the file holds 17,898 loans. Separately, an area here follows the CBSA of any loan's project county, according to the July 2023 definitions as published; each county are paired using the name, and a project whose home county does not map is omitted from each area list by design. Then, class or no class, every 7(a) and 504 approval in these counties is counted within its $9.28 billion total.

The feasibility questions for Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach

Around Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, a full study for a property should start at the project itself, instead of the 17,898-loan file. In practice, local demand in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach is tested first: can Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach's trade area support the turnover planned, set against rivals in places such as Miami-Dade County? For context, the local median runs 0.85x measured against the median nationwide, so everyday approvals come in light; a bigger scheme should demonstrate it can service what it borrows. Separately, coverage of debt service links sales to outlay for Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach: projected net operating income compared with loan payments, and a downside case. Also, the valuation completes the test for Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach: collateral and as-complete value needs to carry the loan put forward. Then, a borrower armed with an independent written study for Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, before meeting a lender, has faced these rates in advance; the final word is with SBA and the lender for Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, not the author of a study.

SBA loans in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metro Area

Loans approved, FY2017 to FY202617,898
Gross dollars approved$9.28 billion
Median loan$177,000
Middle half of loans, from$60,000
Middle half of loans, to$500,000
SBA 7(a) loans15,941
SBA 504 loans1,957
Franchise share of loans6.4%
Rank among metro and micro areas by loans4 of 928
Median loan against the national median0.85x

Cancellation and charge-off

Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor)12.8%
The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling)14.4%
Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor)13.0%
Charged off within five years of approval7.3%
Loans in that cohort6,111

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 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metro Area, by fiscal year

0100020003000FY2017FY2018FY2019FY2020FY2021FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025FY2026Loans, FY2017: 1469Loans, FY2018: 1630Loans, FY2019: 1461Loans, FY2020: 1089Loans, FY2021: 1297Loans, FY2022: 1404Loans, FY2023: 2211Loans, FY2024: 2683Loans, FY2025: 2760Loans, FY2026: 1894
Fiscal yearLoansDollars
FY20171,469$625.1 million
FY20181,630$631.8 million
FY20191,461$605.4 million
FY20201,089$686.3 million
FY20211,297$1.07 billion
FY20221,404$839.7 million
FY20232,211$1.00 billion
FY20242,683$1.32 billion
FY20252,760$1.35 billion
FY20261,894$1.15 billion

Loans by asset class

Asset classLoans
Not in any of the 39 asset classes14,688
Full-service restaurant447
Medical office (physicians)311
Limited-service restaurant297
Child care center266
Fitness center247
Beauty salon238
Dental office212
Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck)176
Coffee shop and snack bar136
Rehabilitation and therapy clinic119
Car wash81
Veterinary clinic72
Grocery store66
Behavioral health and addiction treatment65
Assisted living (without nursing care)60
Hotel and motel49
Gas station and truck stop43
Caterers (includes banquet halls with catering staff)43
School (elementary and secondary, including charter)41
Diagnostic imaging center32
Liquor store32
Data center30
Life science lab (research and development)23
Nonresidential lessor (flex, office and retail investor buildings)20
Warehouse and distribution18
Skilled nursing14
Urgent care and ambulatory surgery14
Marina14
Beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries)11
Self storage9
Hospital9

Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.

Most active SBA lenders

SBA 504: lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
LenderLoansDollars
Florida Business Development Corporation1,017$945.9 million
Florida First Capital Finance Corporation, Inc.860$1.03 billion
Sunshine State Economic Development Corporation69$57.0 million
SBA 7(a): lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
LenderLoansDollars
TD Bank, National Association3,917$475.1 million
Wells Fargo Bank National Association1,052$161.1 million
Newtek Bank, National Association919$386.7 million
JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association844$146.7 million
Northeast Bank (ME)720$120.6 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.

Where the loans are, by county

CountyLoans
Miami-Dade County, FL8,680
Broward County, FL5,263
Palm Beach County, FL3,955

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-33100.

Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 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.

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