TREND TRACKER | DATA INSIGHTS | FEBRUARY RENT REPORT — Boston, MA: February 28, 2023: As this year moves ahead, the rent delinquency problems suffered by many small business owners are rising again, as nearly one-third (32%) could not pay their rent in full and on time in February, up two percentage points from January.
And that figure is up four percentage points from Feb. 2022, when the rent delinquency rate was just 28%.
These findings reflect revenue issues that are ramping up this year, too, as 31% of SMBs have only one month or less of cash reserves in February (up five percentage points from just 26% in January). And only 33% are earning as much if not more than they generated monthly prior to COVID. That figure is down five percentage points from 38% in January.
Alignable has tracked rent delinquency rates for nearly three years and we were relieved to see them drop from 40% in December to 30% in January.
However, Alignable’s February Small Business Rent Report shows that early optimism is starting to wane and financial pressures are growing again for some small businesses.
Stock market volatility has increased, along with a bump in U.S. inflation, ever-rising interest rates, and ongoing fears of a recession. (On that note, 55% of small businesses believe a recession has already started or will come in 2023).
All of these findings and others in this report are based on a survey of 3,875 randomly selected small business owners from Feb. 4, 2023 to Feb. 27, 2023, in addition to historical data from another 70,000+ SMBs over the past 14 months.
Troubles For Transportation
While the average rent delinquency rate is higher across the board, a few industries really stand out in this month’s rent data. And transportation leads the pack, as this chart demonstrates.
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