Port Moody

Port Moody

We get asked about Port Moody all the time, and for good reason. It’s a stable, desirable community at the eastern end of Burrard Inlet, known more for its arts scene and quality of life than any single industry. This isn’t a mill town or a resource hub. The economy runs on professional services, healthcare, and retail, and the population is highly educated—nearly half of all residents hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. With a median household income of $115,000, the borrower profile is strong. It’s a mature, suburban market.

For our broker partners, our analysis of Port Moody is straightforward and starts with geography. As a municipality within Metro Vancouver, it falls squarely outside our lending area. We’ve built our entire model on serving the rest of BC, where the market dynamics are completely different from the Lower Mainland. The competitive landscape in a place like Port Moody is saturated with A-lenders, major credit unions, and large private lenders focused on urban centres. It’s a space where we don’t have an operational edge, and our safety-first philosophy means we don’t compete in markets where we aren’t specialists.

This is why, when brokers check our guidelines for this community, the answer is definitive: our maximum LTV in Port Moody is 0.0%.

This decision isn’t a judgment on the community’s fundamentals. Port Moody is a solid place to live, with its “City of the Arts” identity and natural setting giving it real lifestyle appeal. The housing stock is diverse, split between single-family homes (30%), townhouses (20%), and low-rise apartments (25%). However, the data also shows a market that has hit its saturation point. Statistics Canada reported 0.0% population growth between the last two census periods. For a lender like us, who must always consider worst-case recovery scenarios, a stagnant population is a major red flag. It signals a mature market with limited organic growth—a completely different risk profile than the emerging and regional communities we typically fund.

Port Moody is the type of market we actively avoid. It’s well-serviced by mainstream lenders who cater to prime borrowers. Our niche is elsewhere, in places like Vernon, Grand Forks, or the Comox Valley, where local knowledge provides a distinct advantage and the competitive environment is a better fit for our capital. While Port Moody is a strong community, it’s not a Tekamar market.