Cache Creek

Cache Creek is a crossroads town, plain and simple. It’s a place people pass through on their way somewhere else. Its entire identity is tied to its past as a key stop on the Cariboo Wagon Road and its present as a functional transportation hub. You’ll find some genuine history here, like the preserved Hat Creek Ranch, but let’s be clear: this isn’t a resort community chasing seasonal dollars or a growing suburban outpost. It’s a quiet, rural town whose lifestyle is a world away from the speculative real estate markets in BC’s larger centres. There is no seasonal boom or commuter rush here to prop up the local economy or drive property demand.

From a lending perspective, we have to look straight past the historical charm and focus on the economic fundamentals. The local economy leans heavily on just two sectors: accommodation and transportation. That lack of diversification is a major red flag for us. The numbers confirm the underlying weakness: unemployment sits at a high 13%, while the median household income is only $55,200. Add in the fact that government transfers are a major source of income for residents, and you have a clear picture of a private sector that isn’t robust enough to support a healthy credit market. These aren’t just statistics; they are direct indicators of borrower fragility and significant market risk.

The housing market directly reflects this economic reality. While just over half the homes are single-detached, a very high number—nearly 28%—are movable dwellings, a property type that presents significant underwriting challenges. More importantly, there’s virtually no external demand to speak of. Retirees and vacation buyers aren’t coming here, so there’s no secondary market to prop up values. The market is entirely local, serving a small, aging population with a median age of 57.2 and minimal growth. In a foreclosure scenario, the buyer pool is incredibly thin. We can’t count on a quick sale at market value, which directly impacts our recovery timelines and risk calculations.

For these reasons, our approach in Cache Creek is necessarily conservative. We’ll look at deals here, but only for exceptionally strong borrowers with a clear exit strategy. The combination of a fragile local economy, an aging demographic, and a shallow real estate market means we have to prioritize capital preservation above all else. We cap our lending here at a maximum LTV of 55.0%. This isn’t an arbitrary number. It’s a direct reflection of the potential challenges in liquidating a property in this specific market if a loan goes into default. We’re in the business of lending, not property management, and our LTVs are set accordingly to protect our investors from uncertain recovery scenarios.