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State of the Industry: buyers turn to services and the trades in the three months to October 2026 cover image
14 Nov 2026

State of the Industry: buyers turn to services and the trades in the three months to October 2026

By Sam Bass

Published 15 November 2026. Last updated 15 November 2026.

By Sam Bass.

Every enquiry on Business For Sale tells us something about what Australians want to buy. This is our first quarterly look at that data: which businesses buyers asked about most, which categories are gaining ground, and how each state is tracking. It covers the three months from August to October 2026 and compares them with the three months before, May to July.

The headline: steady quarter, strong finish

Across the quarter, buyer demand held steady. Average daily enquiries were up 2% on May to July once we set aside five days in September when almost no enquiries were recorded (see the methods note). Counting those five days, the quarter was 3% lower.

The finish was much stronger than the start. October was the busiest month of the six we looked at, with enquiries up 25% on August. If that pace holds, the summer selling season begins with buyers already active.

Most-wanted business types

Coffee shops were the single most-enquired business type in every one of the six months, and their share of all enquiries grew from 5.7% to 6.7% this quarter.

By broad category, the top five for August to October were:

Category Share of enquiries, May to Jul Share of enquiries, Aug to Oct
Food and drink 9.5% 8.0%
Business services 5.5% 7.9%
Cafes 7.2% 7.8%
Manufacturing 6.1% 7.5%
Healthcare 6.1% 6.5%

Hospitality is still the biggest single area of interest. Cafes, restaurants and other food and drink businesses together drew about one in five enquiries (21%), slightly down from 22% in May to July.

What buyers asked about most Grouped horizontal bar chart showing each category's share of enquiries in May to July 2026 versus August to October 2026. August to October shares: Food and drink 8.0%, Business services 7.9%, Cafes 7.8%, Manufacturing 7.5%, Healthcare 6.5%, Construction 6.4%, Automotive 6.1%, Cleaning 5.9%. What buyers asked about most Share of all enquiries, top 8 categories May to Jul Aug to Oct 0% 3% 6% 9% 12% Food and drink 9.5% 8.0% Business services 5.5% 7.9% Cafes 7.2% 7.8% Manufacturing 6.1% 7.5% Healthcare 6.1% 6.5% Construction 5.6% 6.4% Automotive 5.8% 6.1% Cleaning 9.2% 5.9% Source: Business For Sale enquiry data, May to October 2026.

Fastest-growing categories

Comparing August to October with May to July, adjusted for overall volume (see methods), the categories gaining the most interest were:

Business services, up 39%

Accounting and bookkeeping practices led the rise.

Manufacturing, up 20%

Metal products manufacturing was up 36%.

Franchises, up 11%

Construction, up 10%

Among smaller business types, gyms (up 63%), food retailers (up 53%) and allied health practices (up 38%) also climbed. These started from smaller bases, so treat them as early signals rather than trends.

Some categories cooled. Interest in cleaning businesses fell 38%, mostly because laundromat enquiries dropped by more than half. Home services fell 30% and accommodation 23%.

The pattern points to buyers favouring businesses built on skills, contracts and repeat clients, such as practices, workshops and trade suppliers.

Where buyer interest grew and cooled Diverging horizontal bar chart of the adjusted percentage change in enquiries from May to July 2026 to August to October 2026. Largest gains: Business services up 38.9%, Manufacturing up 20.4%, Franchises up 11.0%, Construction up 10.0%. Largest falls: Cleaning down 37.7%, Home services down 30.3%, Accommodation down 22.6%. Where buyer interest grew and cooled Adjusted change in enquiries, Aug to Oct vs May to Jul -40% -20% 0 20% 40% Business services +38.9% Manufacturing +20.4% Franchises +11.0% Construction +10.0% Cafes +4.4% Healthcare +2.9% General retail +2.5% Automotive +0.9% Health and beauty +0.7% Import, export, wholesale -7.2% Online -7.4% Restaurants -8.5% Food and drink -19.0% Accommodation -22.6% Home services -30.3% Cleaning -37.7% Source: Business For Sale enquiry data, May to October 2026.

State by state

Victoria was the stand-out. Its share of enquiries rose from 17.4% to 20.0%, and adjusted enquiries were up 12%. Queensland edged up, with its share rising from 27.6% to 28.9%. New South Wales held its share at about 35% and is still the largest market.

Western Australia went the other way. Its share fell from 14.8% to 11.3%, and adjusted enquiries were down 26%. South Australia was broadly steady, down 5%. Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory had too few enquiries to draw firm conclusions.

How each state is tracking Grouped horizontal bar chart of each large state's share of enquiries in May to July 2026 versus August to October 2026, with the adjusted percentage change in enquiries. Victoria's share rose from 17.4% to 20.0% (adjusted enquiries up 11.7%). Western Australia's share fell from 14.8% to 11.3% (adjusted enquiries down 25.9%). Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory are not shown because those groups were too small to compare reliably. How each state is tracking Share of enquiries, and adjusted change May to Jul Aug to Oct Adjusted change 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% NSW 34.5% 34.6% -2.9% QLD 27.6% 28.9% +1.4% VIC 17.4% 20.0% +11.7% WA 14.8% 11.3% -25.9% SA 3.6% 3.5% -5.3% Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory are not shown; those groups were too small to compare reliably. Source: Business For Sale enquiry data, May to October 2026.

Owner-listed vs broker-listed businesses

Businesses listed directly by their owners continue to punch above their weight. From August to October, owner-listed businesses drew about 1.8 times as many enquiries per listing as broker-listed ones (82% more). In May to July they drew about twice as many.

Owner-listed businesses made up about 9% of the listings buyers enquired on, and about 15% of all enquiries. That share has eased over the year, from 17.9% of enquiries in May to July to 15.4% in August to October. Part of the reason is that owner-listed businesses were a slightly smaller part of the mix (9.7% of enquired listings, down to 9.1%). Per listing, they are still well ahead.

Owner-listed businesses draw more enquiries per listing Bar chart indexing enquiries per listing, with broker-listed businesses set at 100. In August to October 2026, owner-listed businesses were at 182. In May to July 2026 they were at 203, shown as a faded comparison bar. Owner-listed businesses draw more enquiries per listing Enquiries per listing, broker-listed = 100 May to Jul (owner-listed) Aug to Oct 0 100 200 100 Broker-listed Aug to Oct 203 Owner-listed May to Jul 182 Owner-listed Aug to Oct Source: Business For Sale enquiry data, May to October 2026.

What this means for sellers

Timing looks good

Buyers ended the quarter more active than they started it, so listing before summer puts your business in front of buyers while interest is up.

If you run a practice, workshop or trade business, buyers are looking

Business services, manufacturing and construction all gained share.

Hospitality is still the biggest pool of buyers

Coffee shops topped the list every month, but there is plenty of choice for buyers, so a clear, complete listing matters.

Talking to buyers yourself works

Owner-listed businesses drew more enquiries per listing than broker listings. Answering enquiries quickly and sharing real numbers with serious buyers keeps that interest alive.

You can list your business for free for 30 days. If you want more buyers to see it, the Direct to Buyers Package is $880 + GST for six months.

What this means for buyers

Popular categories move fast

Coffee shops and other hospitality businesses draw the most competition, so set up alerts and be ready to enquire early.

Look beyond the obvious

Interest in some categories, such as laundromats and home services, has cooled, which may mean less competition for the businesses on offer.

Victoria is heating up, and Queensland's share edged higher

If you're open on location, compare what's available across states.

Set up free buyer alerts for the industry, location and price range you want, and we'll let you know when a matching business goes live.

Methods note

  • Data: every buyer enquiry made through Business For Sale between 1 May and 31 October 2026 (Sydney time), from our enquiry records. Each enquiry is matched to the listing's category and state as shown on the listing in November 2026.
  • Why August to October, not July to September: on 11 to 15 September 2026, our records show almost no enquiries. We have not yet confirmed whether this was a recording gap or a genuine drop; site traffic was also lower that week. A July to September quarter would end on that gap and make demand look weaker than it was. Comparing August to October with May to July gives two full, back-to-back periods of equal length and includes the most recent month. We report overall demand both with and without those five days.
  • Adjusted growth: a small share of enquiries are on listings whose category or state we could no longer identify. That share was higher in May to July (about 6% for category and 11% for state) than in August to October (about 2% and 5%). To compare fairly, category and state changes are calculated from each group's share of identified enquiries, applied to total enquiries in each period.
  • Owner vs broker comparison: "wanted to buy" ads are excluded. Enquiries per listing count only listings that received at least one enquiry in the period.
  • Small groups: categories too small to compare reliably are not ranked for growth, and smaller business types are flagged as early signals.
  • No year-on-year comparison: our current records start in April 2026. We plan to add year-on-year figures in future editions.