Anmore

Let’s be direct: Anmore is a community we don’t lend in. It falls squarely within Metro Vancouver, and Tekamar’s entire focus is on communities outside the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. While it has a quiet, semi-rural feel, its geography and market dynamics place it firmly outside our scope.

For any broker looking at the region, Anmore is best understood as an affluent enclave, not a typical small town. It’s technically a village with a population of just over 2,300, but its character is defined by its proximity to Port Moody and a staggering median household income of $162,000. This isn’t a place with a local, resource-based economy. The top industries here are professional scientific services, construction, and healthcare, which means the residents are highly educated professionals who commute into the broader Metro Vancouver job market. The data confirms this, with nearly 75% of adults having post-secondary education. The extremely low population density, at just 86 people per square kilometer, paints a clear picture of large, sprawling properties rather than a conventional town.

The housing stock tells the same story. Over 71% of the homes are single-detached houses, with virtually no apartments or row houses to speak of. This creates a homogenous market of large, high-value properties and a complete lack of entry-level inventory. These are prime A-paper deals. Borrowers in Anmore typically have the strong credit and income needed to qualify for traditional bank financing. When a file from this area does land on an alternative lender’s desk, it’s usually because it involves a complex, multi-million-dollar property that requires a loan size and risk level that our fund isn’t built for.

From our safety-first perspective, that risk profile is a problem. The lifestyle is a major draw, with Buntzen Lake and endless trails, but the real estate market is dangerously thin. With fewer than 800 private dwellings in total, transaction volume is very low. A default on a high-value property in such a low-volume market presents a serious recovery risk that doesn’t fit our capital preservation model. The carrying costs during a foreclosure would be substantial, and finding a qualified buyer for a unique, high-end property can be a slow, unpredictable process. We can’t afford to have capital tied up for that long.

It’s a beautiful spot, no question about it. But for our fund, it’s a clear non-starter. Because it’s located inside the GVRD and has a high-value, low-velocity real estate market, our maximum loan-to-value in Anmore is 0.0%. We don’t consider deals here.