Owners of small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) are getting good prices for their companies even though they're not spending a lot of time preparing their firms for sale. That's the finding of the “Q4 2017 Market Pulse Report,” which was released by researchers at Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and two industry groups, the International Business Brokers Association and the M&A Source. Owners who sold their companies for less than $500,000 got 3% more than they originally asked for, according to the survey. Small and midsize businesses overall, with sales prices ranging up to $50 million, fetched 99% of their asking price compared with 90% a year earlier. The survey questioned 264 business brokers and M&A advisers.