Mackenzie

Underwriting a deal in Mackenzie requires a cold, hard look at the reality on the ground. This isn’t a tourism-driven weekend getaway or a scenic Okanagan resort town. It is a classic, no-nonsense northern BC “instant town,” carved out of the wilderness in the 1960s to service the Peace River hydro projects and the regional timber limits. Located forty kilometers off Highway 97 and roughly two hours north of Prince George, nobody ends up in Mackenzie by accident. People move here for one reason: work.

The local economy lives and dies by the forestry and manufacturing sectors, which make up nearly a third of all local employment. Major players like Conifex and Paper Excellence drive the market, making the entire town highly sensitive to global commodity cycles. This economic concentration is reflected in the demographic data. The population has stabilized at 3,281 residents, representing zero growth over the last several years. While those with steady industrial jobs earn decent wages, the broader economic volatility shows in the numbers, with the local unemployment rate sitting at a high 12.3%. It is a blue-collar, working-age demographic where 65% of the population falls between 15 and 64, and they are highly reliant on these primary industries.

For mortgage brokers, this dynamic translates to highly affordable housing prices, but with a serious side order of market volatility. The housing stock is exactly what you would expect from a mid-century instant town. Single-family detached homes dominate the market at 66.7%, while movable dwellings and mobile homes make up a substantial 13.5%. The buyer pool is almost entirely local, consisting of plant workers, contractors, and retirees. Despite the proximity to Williston Lake, a true recreational or secondary cabin market does not exist here. If the mills face a downturn, local inventory sits, and finding a qualified buyer can become an uphill battle.

At Tekamar, we do not shy away from northern resource towns. We are the mortgage investment corporation that steps in when major banks and credit unions pull their capital back to metropolitan areas. We understand how to structure bridge financing and alternative mortgages for clients who have solid equity but do not fit the rigid boxes of prime lenders.

However, we have to price and structure our deals for the reality of the exit. If a major employer idles its operations, liquidity in Mackenzie dries up overnight, and selling a property can drag on for months or even years. To protect our portfolio from getting locked into extended foreclosure proceedings, we cap our maximum leverage here. Our maximum loan-to-value for Mackenzie is strictly capped at 50%.

This conservative limit allows us to remain active in the market when other alternative lenders refuse to quote. If you have a client in Mackenzie with a strong equity position and a clean exit strategy, we want to see the file. We just need to keep the leverage conservative enough to balance the market’s liquidity risks.