I normally startout with the shownearby analytics site, then highlight a few locations already, go to real estate agent with those locations and ask if he has property there. Then, I make sure I ask him exactly what is the address of the location and input back to the website to check 2 things. 1) If the location he give really good. 2) If he is honest about what he claims about the location.
Its tough with so many agents flooding the market, bound to be black sheeps. But this kind of homework helps you minimise time wastage. Best of luck!