North Cowichan

North Cowichan sits quietly on Vancouver Island, doing what it does best: aging gracefully while everyone else scrambles for attention. With nearly 29% of residents over 65, this isn’t your typical BC boom town—it’s where people come when they’ve figured out what actually matters.

The numbers tell a story that mortgage brokers should pay attention to. Maximum LTV of 70% reflects what locals already know: this place has staying power. When your community spans from Duncan to Chemainus and includes Maple Bay, you’re not just buying into one neighborhood’s fortunes. You’re betting on an entire lifestyle that includes some of the island’s most coveted waterfront.

Here’s what makes North Cowichan different from other retirement havens: it actually works year-round. Zone 8b climate means gardens that would make Lower Mainland residents jealous, without the Lower Mainland prices or traffic. The Cowichan Valley’s wine country designation isn’t tourism marketing—it’s geography delivering what people pay premium prices for elsewhere.

The economic foundation runs deeper than the typical island resource dependency. Healthcare leads employment at nearly 15%, followed by retail and construction. This isn’t a forestry town hoping for the best; it’s a service economy built around people who chose to be here. When your median age is 51 and climbing, you create demand for services that don’t disappear when commodity prices shift.

For brokers working with clients who’ve discovered that life’s too short for long commutes, North Cowichan offers something increasingly rare: a place where the lifestyle actually matches the marketing brochure. The Cowichan River, Maple Bay Marina, and proximity to both Victoria and Nanaimo create options without chaos.

The housing market reflects this stability—62% single-family homes in a region where people come to stay, not flip. That’s the kind of fundamentals that make 70% LTV lending feel conservative rather than aggressive.