Give him or her an exclusive on your business and have them suss out the best buys. Check area newspapers and listing services, keep your eyes open and your wallet ready. Unless you're just willing to take your real estate agent's word for it. Buy lakefront property. Lakefront is still on an upward roll and has, up until now, shown the fastest price escalation.
People pay more to be close to the water.
The fascination and affinity for water seems to be almost coded into we naked apes. From the investor's viewpoint, waterfront isn't always easy going. If the lot is too small to legally accommodate a septic field or your neighbour's existing system is too close to your planned well, or vice versa, the lot might be legally unusable for residential purposes. Waterfront lots have also undergone rapid appreciation with existing owners having already enjoyed the resulting capital gains. In other words, they've squeezed it for all it's worth.