Western Investor named Surrey as the No. 1 centre for Western Canadian real estate investors in its first annual Top Ten Towns, which will be published in the November edition of the leading commercial real estate publication.

Surrey took the top award because of an innovative incentive program for developers, a civic initiative to cut red tape for real estate developers and builders and because more homes are being built in the city than in any other B.C. municipality, including the larger City of Vancouver. Surrey has also promoted a new city centre that has resulted in a number of large private and public real estate projects breaking ground.

Calgary took the No. 2 position in the top 10 rankings, primarily because of the stellar performance of its office sector this year. Other cities named, in order of ranking, are: Saskatoon, Kelowna, Red Deer, Fort McMurray/Wood Buffalo, Brandon, Prince George, Comox and Langley Township.

"It was hard to choose 10 great cities in Western Canada for real estate opportunities," said Western Investor editor Frank O'Brien. "We believe our selection this year profiles cities that have the greatest potential for real estate investors in 2011, and going into next year."