# Fraser Lake, BC

> **Lending here.** Maximum LTV: 45.0%.

## Lending snapshot

Fraser Lake is a small, remote Highway 16 resource town with a tiny local buyer pool. We cap our LTV at 45.0% here because the economy relies on single industries and faces a high 12.4% unemployment rate. If a deal goes sideways, exits are slow and expensive, so we need that extra equity cushion.

## Key facts

- **Region:** Bulkley-Nechako
- **Maximum LTV:** 45.0%
- **Population:** 965
- **Economic score:** 4/100
- **Desirability score:** 5/100

## About Fraser Lake

### Inside the Fraser Lake Market

Fraser Lake is about two hours west of Prince George on Highway 16. It's a no-nonsense northern BC resource town, not a speculative market or a commuter hub. With a population of 965 that has seen 0.0% growth since 2016, the real estate market here is completely flat. It is a working-class community built on forestry and mining, located on the traditional territory of the Nadleh Whut'en and Stellat'en First Nations. When brokers call us with a deal in this area, we know the score. It is a tight, single-industry community where housing demand lives and dies by local jobs.

The local economy runs on the West Fraser sawmill. Manufacturing accounts for 31.5% of local employment, while mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction make up another 9.0%. The Endako molybdenum mine used to be the other big economic engine, but it went into care and maintenance back in 2015 and never restarted. That hit the town hard. The local unemployment rate sits at 12.4%, and the overall employment rate is just 48.4%. Since we prioritize protecting our principal, these are the numbers we look at. When a town depends so heavily on one mill, a drop in global lumber prices can freeze the local real estate market overnight.

That said, people live in Fraser Lake because they want to. It is affordable, and the outdoor access is incredible. There are dozens of lakes nearby, and the Stellako River is famous for fly fishing. The town even calls itself the Swan Capital of the World because of the trumpeter swans that winter here. Single-detached houses make up 66.3% of the housing stock, with row houses at 14.6% and apartments under five storeys at 12.4%. Buyers are usually mill workers, school district employees with short commutes—65.3% of residents commute under 15 minutes—or retirees cashing out of Prince George or Vancouver to live cheaply by the water.

We specialize in BC's smaller markets, so we do lend in Fraser Lake, but we are highly conservative about it. In a town this size, if we have to foreclose, the process takes time. The property might sit on the market for many months, interest piles up, and transaction costs eat away at our position. We need a massive equity buffer to protect against that liquidity risk. Because of that, we cap our loans in Fraser Lake at a maximum of **45.0%** LTV.

If your client has plenty of equity in a solid property and needs an alternative to the local credit union, send us the file. We can do equity takeouts for mill workers looking to clean up their debt, or bridge loans for retirees. If the deal fits within our **45.0%** limit, we will give you a straight answer.

## Mortgage products available in Fraser Lake

| Product | Max LTV | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| [Bridge Financing](/mortgage_products/bridge-financing.md) | 45.0% | Standard product terms |
| [Credit Repair and Debt Consolidation](/mortgage_products/credit-repair-and-debt-consolidation.md) | 45.0% | Standard product terms |
| [Equity Lending / Refinance](/mortgage_products/equity-lending.md) | 45.0% | Standard product terms |
| [Purchases](/mortgage_products/purchases.md) | 45.0% | Standard product terms |
| [Variable Income](/mortgage_products/variable-income.md) | 45.0% | Standard product terms |

## Frequently asked questions

### What's the max LTV in Fraser Lake and why is it set there?

We cap lending at 45.0% LTV because selling a property here in a foreclosure scenario takes months. That equity cushion is necessary to protect our investors from high carrying costs in a slow-moving market.

### How does the local economy affect getting a deal done?

With a high 12.4% unemployment rate and heavy reliance on manufacturing and forestry, income stability is key. We look closely at the borrower's job security because a single industry slowdown can stall the entire local market.

### What would sink a deal here?

Trying to finance multi-family properties like duplexes or apartments is a hard 'no' since there's virtually no market for them. We also won't touch deals with sketchy borrower profiles given how vulnerable the local economy is.


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