Wells

Wells, BC

Wells is a town built on a boom-and-bust cycle, and you can’t underwrite a property here without understanding that history. It was founded in the 1930s as a purpose-built company town for the Gold Quartz Mine, peaking at around 4,500 people. When the mine shut down in 1967, the town nearly evaporated. The population today sits at 218 permanent residents. That’s not a slow decline; it’s a near-total economic reset.

The town’s second life began in the 1970s, built on arts and tourism anchored by the Island Mountain Arts Society and its popular festival. This creates a seasonal burst of activity, but it’s an incredibly narrow economic base. The census data tells a stark story: an unemployment rate of 37.5%. That’s not a typo. The top industries are a fragile mix of construction, arts and recreation, retail, and finance, with no single, stable employer providing a foundation. This isn’t a diverse economy; it’s a collection of small ventures vulnerable to seasonal shifts and tourism trends, with the ghost of the collapsed mining industry serving as a constant warning.

The housing stock and demographics reflect this reality. Of the 156 private dwellings, nearly 70% are single-detached houses, but with a population of only 218, the market is microscopic. The population density is just 1.4 people per square kilometer, hammering home the extreme isolation of being located far from any major service center. While the median age is 42.8 and nearly one in five residents is over 65, don’t mistake this for a retirement destination. The lifestyle is for a very specific buyer: someone committed to a remote, creative, outdoor life who can handle a brutal climate.

From a lending perspective, this presents a unique set of risks. The primary draw is the natural setting, which appeals to a niche group of adventure-seekers. But the severe climate—a Plant Hardiness Zone of 3b—is a massive deterrent for a broader market. We’ve noted the local climate has been warming, but a very cold place getting slightly less cold doesn’t create mainstream demand. This isn’t a market with broad appeal for retirees or families looking for conventional employment, which drastically limits the potential buyer pool.

When we evaluate a deal in Wells, we’re focused on the exit strategy. A foreclosure here would be prolonged and costly. The market is thin, with few comparable sales and a limited number of active buyers at any given time. Finding a new owner for a property in a town this small with such a fragile economy requires a deep discount and a lot of patience.

Because of these factors—the extreme remoteness, the micro-population, and the precarious, seasonal nature of its economy—our risk tolerance in Wells is very low. We will consider financing, but only for exceptionally strong files. Our maximum loan-to-value in Wells is 50.0%.