Midway

Lending in Midway, BC

Midway isn’t a place you pass through by accident. It sits right on Highway 3, marking Mile Zero of the Kettle Valley Rail Trail, but its identity is tied more to the Kettle River and its role as the service hub for the rural West Boundary. With a population of just 651 spread over 12 square kilometers, this is a genuinely small, rural town. It has the essentials: a grocery store, a pharmacy, a high school, and an RCMP detachment. This isn’t a bedroom community or a tourist town; it’s a functional, self-contained village that services the surrounding agricultural and residential area.

The economic reality here is straightforward. The old drivers—forestry, mining, the railroad—are now heritage, not active industries. Today, the economy runs on a mix of local services, retail, and public administration. The numbers tell a clear story of a fragile local economy: median household income is low at $58,000, and the unemployment rate sits high at 8.6%. More telling is the demographic data. This is a retirement town, with a median age of 62.8. Seniors over 65 make up a staggering 43% of the population, while youth under 14 account for less than 7%. With virtually zero population growth since 2016 and no major employer or industry poised to expand, the property market is stable but has almost no upside potential. This isn’t a market that’s going to see a sudden boom.

From a lending perspective, these factors are critical. We see a tight-knit community with a high rate of homeownership, which is a positive. The housing stock is almost exclusively single-detached homes (83%) and movable dwellings (14%), with a complete absence of condos, duplexes, or row houses. This limits the market to a very specific type of buyer. The lifestyle appeal is there—access to trails, skiing, a quiet rural vibe—but it attracts a niche demographic, mainly retirees. The small population, combined with the aging demographic and lack of economic catalysts, creates an incredibly thin market. In a foreclosure scenario, a property could sit for a very long time. The pool of qualified local buyers is tiny, and there’s nothing on the horizon to attract significant new growth.

This risk profile directly informs our lending position. The reliance on a narrow set of industries and a high unemployment rate points to economic vulnerability. While the proximity to Osoyoos, about 50 kilometres away, provides some regional stability, it doesn’t fundamentally change the dynamics of a small, static market. For these reasons, we approach Midway with a conservative lens. We will lend here, but only on deals with significant homeowner equity. Our maximum loan-to-value is 55.0%. This isn’t a market for speculative investment or high-leverage financing; it’s a market for well-secured loans to established homeowners who need to pull out equity. If you have a client with a solid balance sheet and a clear purpose for the funds, we’ll look at the deal. But we all have to be realistic about the exit strategy in a market this small.