Investment Property
After everything that has happened with the economy, I still believe that investment property purchases are still the way to go. For long term investments, you just can not go wrong with real property. Property is the one thing that comes back no matter how bad the economy gets. All of the stories of mega millionaires has something to do with real estate and how they purchased a piece of property and held on to it. The key is hanging on the the real property for 10 to 15 years. No matter what, you will not loose.
Ask any property investment consultant and they will tell you the same thing. Real estate is the best thing to invest in. Often times, people do not hold on to these types of investments for a long time, and in turn get burnt. For short term investments, real estate is just as risky as the stock market because there are so many variables to consider and often times the appreciation of the property value has not really taken effect for it to be turned around in a quick period (unless the purchase price of it was so low that you are investing with the golden principle of buying low and selling high).