Feasibility Study Data for the Worcester, MA Metro Area

Volume and loan size in Worcester

2,043 loans for projects in Worcester, MA between FY2017 to FY2026 add up to $712.8 million in gross dollars. Beyond that, Worcester stands at 52 of 928 in the field of the complete list of core-based areas on approvals. Beyond that, $115,000 sets the typical loan; the middle half spans $50,000 to $324,000. In addition, the area median comes to 0.55x of the median nationwide, which puts ticket size under the national norm. Worcester looks only at projects inside its borders, and never a whole state's average: 2,043 approvals overall.

Program split and lender roster for Worcester

1,727 7(a) approvals accompany 316 SBA 504 loans. 5.9% of the approvals carry franchised units here. For 7(a) loans, the largest names by count come out as TD Bank, National Association holding 240 loans totalling $34.0 million, UniBank for Savings booking 178 loans and $15.6 million, then St. Mary's CU with 113 loans totalling $9.5 million. In addition, within 504 loans, the biggest development companies by approvals stand as Bay Colony Development Corporation at 99 loans and $54.4 million and Worcester Business Development Corporation booking 95 loans worth $56.3 million. Also, these names are copied from SBA files covering 2,043 approvals; they list completed approvals only, and not the terms that lenders ask for in Worcester.

Where the loans sit in Worcester

79 in full-service restaurant, 61 in automotive mechanical repair, fitness center at 41, and limited-service restaurant with 41 head the class list in the file. In turn, 1,544 loans sit beyond every named class, so the Worcester total covers more than the class list. Here, 5 loans in caterers within Worcester are too few for a trend. In addition, Worcester County carries every one of 2,043 approvals, so the area and the county match. Across the years, FY2017 leads off at 312 loans and $62.1 million; that opening year is also the high, while FY2026, a year yet to finish, rounds out the record at 176 loans and $80.1 million.

What the floors allow in Worcester

13.2% among FY2017 through FY2024 approvals in Worcester were cancelled before funding, which is a floor; 14.2% marks the ceiling counting undisbursed loans. 4.1% of FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans in Worcester were charged off to date, a floor; 2.2% went to charge-off in the first half decade from approval, across a cohort of 854 disbursed loans. Beyond that, treat each percentage printed here like a floor, as approvals made lately received little time to be cancelled or charged off; the file has 2,043 loans in all. In practice, each area here is the statistical area holding any loan's site county, following the July 2023 boundaries as issued; each county were matched on name, but any loan whose county cannot be assigned is excluded from each area list as a rule. Also, counting every class and none, every approval under 7(a) or 504 in these counties is included within its $712.8 million total.

What a study must prove in Worcester

Around Worcester, any serious study aimed at a property should open with the subject property, not from the 2,043-loan file. In practice, customer demand in Worcester leads the work: will Worcester's local customer base sustain the receipts projected, net of nearby competition around Worcester County? The local median runs 0.55x measured against the nation's median, so many deals run small; a project that outsizes them has to prove why its size is sound. Beyond that, debt service coverage joins demand to cost in Worcester: forecast income set against the payments due, plus a stress case. Then, the appraisal closes the loop here: the value of the collateral needs to carry the borrowing asked for. Beyond that, a borrower carrying an outside report of Worcester, ahead of calling on a bank, has answered those floors first; the decision belongs to the lender and the agency in Worcester, and a study only informs it.