Of course there are always those who get in before it hits the news, but if you invested by the theory of once it is news its too late you would struggle to find many good investments.  Sometimes investors are not in a financial position to jump on early announcements, and others may be less risk tollerant and like to forgo some profit by sitting back early on to ensure these announcements come to fruition first.
There are many regional towns that have been written about but continue to grow year on year. What about South Headland, Karratha, Broken Hill, Dubbo, Gladstone, Townsville etc etc. Sure some towns like South Headland are now too expensive for investors looking for value, but look at places like Broken Hill/ Dubbo that have seen their median house prices rise by 8.6% over the past 5 years. I have read about these towns before, but to say its too late with median house prices around $215 & $250 respectively is a bit rich. Good luck finding any town with potential with houses around $80,000 (as Chinchilla did in 2003).
Just my thoughts

I am going up to Chinchilla in south west QLD next week for a look around next week. Billions in the pipeline, looks good. Prices have increased dramatically over the past couple of years though you can still buy older homes under 300k. Unlike Gladstone, Chinchilla market is still warming up and the ship hasnt sailed yet. Check it out for yourself.

Did you make contact with Jennifer, my agent in Atlanta? I think I have already given you her details.
Craig

I have just returned from a week in Atlanta where I met and spent time with TRR as well as an independant sales agent. TRR were brilliant!! Yes they are incredibly busy, a victim of their own success, but their knowledge and profesionalism is second to none. After my first meeting with them I left with a list of prevoiusly sold properties to visit, just to get a feel for the different areas they deal with. Later that week myself and two other investors spent 6 hours in a car with both Michael and Bronwyn  as they inspected potential properties commimg up for auction. What an eye opener! These guys are so thorough, they just wont look at anything that doesnt stack up in quality, location and price. From my week in Atlanta, I decided where it was I wanted to buy and now TRR are on the lookout for me. Many of the properties they find never make their you-tube listing, as there are many investors like myself that have taken the time to travel there and spend time with them to discuss their needs. There are also many investors who have multiple properties through TRR. This for me speaks volumes for the results they give.

As mentioned  I also spent time driving around Atlanta with an independent agent who I found to be brilliant also. Unlike in Oz where you speak to the selling agent about a particular property you are interested in, in the US you must deal with one agent, whom acts as your buying agent for a particular area. My agent, Jennifer who is based in Atlanta and works for a large independent agency,  is now representing me with offers on two lots of units/ duplexes from my loungroom in Australia.

My investment strategy is to mix my portfolio with both lower margin/ high quality property with high margin/ lower quality cash cow property. TRR will manage the property I purchase with them, while I will use the property management division of the agency I am using for the multi-family units/ duplexes.

Atlanta is a beautiful city, a place where I could easily live. Like any city there are good and bad areas to invest in, so my advise would be to invest a week of your life and $3000 and go visit there for yourself, you won't be dissapointed.