Oliver

Lending in Oliver, BC

You can’t talk about Oliver without talking about vineyards. The town calls itself the “Wine Capital of Canada,” and that’s not an exaggeration. The wine industry is the economic and cultural engine here, turning a pocket desert at the northern tip of the Great Basin into a major agricultural hub. The landscape is dominated by rows of vines and orchards flanked by arid mountains. It’s a distinct market, driven by this agricultural base and a specific lifestyle appeal that attracts a very particular buyer—someone who wants sun, golf, and wine, and is willing to trade urban convenience for it. Attractions like the Fairview Mountain Golf Course and proximity to Baldy Mountain Resort are key selling points, especially for out-of-province buyers.

The town’s identity is rooted in the land, from its Syilx Okanagan heritage to the Portuguese and Punjabi Sikh families who have shaped the agricultural sector. This gives Oliver a stability that a lot of other small BC towns lack. Its economy runs on a growing season cycle, not a resource-based boom-and-bust. The data shows healthcare and retail as the top employers, which is typical for a community where the median age is 58 and more than a third of the population is over 65. The housing stock reflects this, with over two-thirds of homes being single-detached houses. People don’t move here for high-paying jobs; they arrive with equity from other markets, looking for a retirement property or a second home.

For brokers, this context is crucial. Local purchasing power is very limited. The median household income is just $68,500, and the unemployment rate sits at a high 8.4%. That means the market’s health depends heavily on out-of-town money from retirees cashing out of places like Vancouver or Calgary. While this insulates property values from purely local economic shocks, it also means liquidity can be a problem. A property in Oliver simply won’t move with the speed it would in Kelowna. The buyer pool is smaller, more specific, and not always in a hurry. In a forced sale situation, that translates to a longer time on market.

That’s why our position here is straightforward and conservative. We see Oliver as a predictable market. The strong lifestyle appeal provides a floor for demand, and geographic constraints limit the risk of over-development, which we like. But we have to balance that against the weak local economy and the potential for a slow sale if we have to take possession. For the right property with a borrower who fits the dominant retiree demographic, we’re comfortable lending. Our maximum loan-to-value in Oliver is 60.0%. That number is set specifically to protect against the risks of thin liquidity and longer sales cycles in a small, rural-resort economy.