SBA 7(a) Medical Office Feasibility Study in Maryland

Maryland physician offices: smaller than the nation, concentrated in the suburbs

Maryland's medical office (physicians) cell holds 120 SBA 7(a) loans approved between FY2017 and FY2026, with gross dollars of $53.7 million. By loan count the state ranks 14 for the pairing, and the class stands 8 of 39 at home. The median loan of $181,050 equals 0.72x the nationwide figure, so a Maryland practice borrows less than a typical one elsewhere, and the central half falls between $67,500 and $535,375. Franchise use is rare at 2.5%. No measure here is an outlier.

A dominant holder and a suburban map

Of the lenders SBA lists, Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company is the standout, with 43 of these loans, yet its total is only $4.2 million, while Wells Fargo Bank National Association holds just 9 loans worth $8.2 million. Newtek Bank, National Association has 7 loans for $3.1 million, The Huntington National Bank 5 for $4.3 million and Truist Bank 5 for $2.5 million. By county, Montgomery with 29 loans, Prince Georges with 24, Baltimore County with 16, Howard 9 and Anne Arundel 8, while Baltimore City has only 5. The trend is uneven, from a single loan and $1.0 million in FY2020 up to 24 loans and $5.7 million in FY2026.

In Maryland, 12.3% of loans approved from FY2017 to FY2024 is the least that was cancelled, and 15.1% the most if undisbursed loans are treated that way. The funded FY2017 to FY2021 cohort is only 31 loans, with a write-off floor of 3.2% on both the running and five-year measures. A small cohort moves a lot on one loan, so treat the rate as a minimum with wide uncertainty.

Testing a Maryland practice request

A Maryland study should anchor on the physician's own numbers: patient panel, payer contracts, collections and the practice's history, because that is what services the debt. It should test location against referral networks and hospital affiliation, then fit-out cost, medical equipment and any real estate purchase against a loan that typically falls near $181,050. Coverage must hold when insurer reimbursement shifts or a partner leaves. If the borrower is acquiring an existing practice, the valuation of goodwill matters as much as the building, and the appraisal should separate them. Lenders will want to see closing readiness, given how many approvals in this cell never funded.