DECADES OF EXPERIENCE · BUSINESS VALUATION · EXIT STRATEGY

Is Your Business Built to Sell at Maximum Value?

Owners in the home services industry are leaving millions on the table.
Discover where your business stands — and what moves the needle for
buyers and investors today.

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x SDE — the national median
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transactions in the buyer database
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gross profit margin

THE WINDOW IS NOW

Strategic buyers and private equity are actively acquiring. Is your business positioned to command a premium?

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Your Industry. Your Opportunity.

Home Services

From HVAC and plumbing to lawn care and remodeling. This sector is experiencing a buyer frenzy fueled by aging housing stock, tech disruption, and private equity roll-up strategies.

4000+

Home services acquisitions in the national deal database.

130+

Private equity platforms actively acquiring home services businesses

40 Years

Average age of a U.S. home. The driver of home services demand.

Market overview


The U.S. home services industry, encompassing HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, landscaping, pest control, and related trades, generates an estimated $600 billion or more in annual revenue, making it one of the largest and most recession-resistant sectors of the American economy.

Unlike discretionary consumer spending, demand for home services is structural: a furnace that fails in January gets fixed in January. A roof that leaks gets replaced. A pest problem gets treated. This work is non-negotiable and will not be deferred.

Selling Your Indiana Home Services Business?
Here’s What the Market Is Telling Us.

The U.S. home services industry — HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, landscaping, pest control, and related trades — generates an estimated $600 billion or more in annual revenue, making it one of the most recession-resistant sectors of the American economy. Demand is structural, not discretionary: a furnace that fails in January gets fixed in January. A leaking roof gets replaced. Pest problems get treated. The work is non-negotiable.

The fundamentals are equally strong. The average American home is approximately 40 years old — well into the phase when major mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems require regular replacement rather than simple maintenance (U.S. Census Bureau; Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, 2025). In Indiana, with its deep housing stock and significant pre-1990 construction, that dynamic is even more pronounced: more aging homes means more service calls, more replacement projects, and more recurring revenue.

Home services also carries some of the strongest unit economics of any small business category. Across more than 4,000 closed transactions in the DealStats database, the median gross profit margin is 70.9% — reflecting the labor-intensive, asset-light nature of the model and explaining why this sector has become one of the most actively acquired in private markets (DealStats / Business Valuation Resources, 2026).

The U.S. home services industry — HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, landscaping, pest control, and related trades — generates an estimated $600 billion or more in annual revenue, making it one of the most recession-resistant sectors of the American economy. Demand is structural, not discretionary: a furnace that fails in January gets fixed in January. A leaking roof gets replaced. Pest problems get treated. The work is non-negotiable.

The fundamentals are equally strong. The average American home is approximately 40 years old — well into the phase when major mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems require regular replacement rather than simple maintenance (U.S. Census Bureau; Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, 2025). In Indiana, with its deep housing stock and significant pre-1990 construction, that dynamic is even more pronounced: more aging homes means more service calls, more replacement projects, and more recurring revenue.

Home services also carries some of the strongest unit economics of any small business category. Across more than 4,000 closed transactions in the DealStats database, the median gross profit margin is 70.9% — reflecting the labor-intensive, asset-light nature of the model and explaining why this sector has become one of the most actively acquired in private markets (DealStats / Business Valuation Resources, 2026).

Why Now Is a Strong Time to Sell

Private Equity Demand Is High

  • Home services has attracted more PE attention over the past five years than virtually any other small business.
  • Established local operators are difficult to replicate. 
  • Trained technicians and customer relationships cannot be built from scratch

Demand Strengthens Seller Leverage

  • More buyers competing for quality businesses means stronger offers and better deal terms
  • Median sale price across the DealStats database: $927,500 at a 2.81x SDE multiple
  • HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and pest control are primary acquisition targets.

The Labor Market Creates Additional Urgency

  • Licensed tradespeople: HVAC technicians, master plumbers, and journeyman electricians are increasingly hard to recruit and retain
  • A business with a trained, licensed team commands an acquisition premium
  • If your crew is good, it’s part of the valuation and that window is open now

 

Key Value Drivers

Scheduled maintenance plans (HVAC tune-ups, pest control subscriptions, lawn care programs) create predictable, recurring revenue that buyers will pay a meaningful premium to acquire. A business with 300 active maintenance customers is worth considerably more than one without them.

The most common discount factor in a home services acquisition is owner dependency. A business where the owner is also the lead technician, estimator, or primary customer contact is significantly harder to transfer. Buyers are acquiring an operation, not a job.

State-licensed plumbers, electricians, HVAC technicians with EPA 608 certification, or pest control operators with state applicator licenses are genuine business assets in a tight labor market. The harder those credentials are to find, the more they contribute to valuation.

Google reviews, Nextdoor presence, and Yelp ratings are actively reviewed during buyer due diligence. A 4.5+ star rating with hundreds of reviews signals customer trust and marketing leverage that a new owner can build on immediately.

Businesses that span multiple services (HVAC + plumbing, lawn care + pest control, roofing + gutters) carry less seasonal risk and offer buyers more cross-sell opportunities. Single-service businesses are more exposed to seasonal fluctuation and demand cycles in one category.

Well-maintained service vehicles and current tools reduce the immediate capital investment a buyer must plan for post-close and signal an owner who ran the business with intention.

Commercial service relationships, property management companies, HOAs, and light commercial tenants create revenue diversity and year-round cash flow that residential-only businesses don’t always have.

Businesses running on ServiceTitan, Jobber, or similar platforms have organized customer history, job records, and revenue data that make due diligence faster and create confidence in reported numbers.

State contractor licenses in good standing, appropriate liability and workers’ comp coverage, and no material regulatory history removes friction from closing and signals a professionally operated company.

What Buyers Are Paying

Based on 836 closed transactions across HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, pest control, and landscaping (SIC codes 0782, 1711, 1731, 1761, 7342, 7349), the current median valuation benchmarks are as follows (DealStats / Business Valuation Resources, 2026):

Median SDE Multiple

Median EBITDA Multiple

Median Revenue Multiple

Median SDE Marg

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Seller’s Discretionary Earnings
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(for larger, institutionally recast operations)
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annual gross revenue
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of annual revenue

Risks to Understand

Owner Dependency

If the business can’t run without you for 30 days, buyers will price that risk. Documented processes and a self-sufficient team are essential.

Seasonality

HVAC demand concentrates in summer and winter. Diversified service lines or maintenance agreements that smooth cash flow make financing easier.

Labor

Licensed technicians are hard to find in Indiana. Aging staff, approaching retirement, or missing employment agreements raise continuity risk.

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    “If you are looking to buy or sell a business then I would strongly recommend giving the IBA a call. They knew all the right questions to ask as well as good ways to structure the deal. After we met, they were able to figure out what we were looking for and find a buyer within a few weeks who would be a good fit. They were able to work out the deal that made it a win for everybody. They were not just looking for a commission, but were genuinely concerned about the client’s well-being, rather than the overall deal.”

    Jacob Bills