The areas of California, Nevada and Arizona boasted a whopping 68% increase in SBA 504 loan approvals from February to March.  Many leading experts are viewing this as a real sign that the markets are coming back, normalizing, and that the credit freeze may finally be thawing.  

As far as a dollar amount, the approval increased in these three states from roughly $48 million in February to $77 million in March.   The bulk of the increase occurred in California.  

Clearly the stimulus package is working.  And whether or not it is due to the reduction in fees, or just the increase in public awareness of the program and the increase in confidence that people have regarding the SBA 504 program is not clear.  The secondary market for SBA 504 loans has remained strong throughout the credit crisis, so the increase is probably more a result of the public's psychology, i.e. the belief that these loans are viable and it would not be a waste of time to go through the process. 

The SBA has had a pretty bad reputation for the efficiency of their program, which is mostly unwarranted.  Also, many potential borrowers are so beat up mentally that they just don't want to "bother", as they assume they will not qualify and or the program will not materialize and it will be a major waste of time to attempt to purchase a commercial property.  Also, many borrowers assume that if they have been turned down from an "SBA bank" that they don't qualify for the program.  Its critical to keep in mind that the SBA does not lend money.  Most of the time when a borrower is denied its from the banks own standards - not the SBA's. 

Some SBA lenders are much more aggressive than commercial mortgage lenders.  For example, there still are SBA lenders that will lend to borrowers that have credit scores in the 500's, low levels of cash flow, etc.  Not all SBA lenders are created the same!

Small business owners unaware of the details of the SBA-504 are often very surprised by the strength of it.  For example 90% financing is common.  Compare that to the typical 65- 70% financing on conventional commercial loans.   Also, most local/regional banks are now offering a max 3 year fixed rate, while the SBA 504 program offers fixed rates from 5 - 20 years.  Rates are very competitive right now with the CDC piece at 5.2%...  Fixed for 20 years.

It is a very worthy program and borrowers that are considering purchasing a new building or equipment should look into the SBA 504 program intensely.