Oh my a $400,000 property. CANNOT imagine. Amazing how much property is worth around different areas. My sis bought a 300+ acre farm with a very nice home in the UP of Michigan for under that. Around $300,000 I think.
Yes, get out while the getting is good. Our economy is headed for the rocks, no matter which political party holds the top position. It is liable to get real bad and I wouldn't want to be in a state where you basically have no rights. Sell your place immediately. Take advantage of the high price, even if you have to rent a place before you find what you want. Get out. Like @Latestarter said, your 860K could drop to 200K and then you'd be upside down, owing more than it is even worth and couldn't give it away. Take the money, honey and run as fast as you can to east Texas. You already have friends here.
Up is good. Minus mass. They have the same problem as Colorado. As does California. And Connecticut . I know California isnt up but I had to throw them in there because it's so incredibly not a good place to move as a farmer /homesteader (sorry to the Californians on here)
Don't feel bad @NH homesteader lots of people don't know the "nicknames" for places around the country. Like how many people know where the "Northeast Kingdom" (NEK) is??
I've been through the UP a few times, it is on the way between home and Beloit, WI where DD2 is a senior at Beloit College. Other than that, I have no reference.
My GUESS is that land is cheap up there because there is nothing up there! No big cities to draw the people with good paying jobs that would like to live a bit farther from the busy city where real estate is very expensive. But they still want to keep their jobs in the city and they have enough money to drive the prices up in the "outskirts" where property is "cheap" (as long as you have a good paying job in the city).
Land is getting high here. If it continues, I will gladly sell out and move back to west central Texas, back to the 'brown' land where I can see into the next county. Too 'civilized' here for my liking anyway, and I'm sick of looking at pine trees--they just obscure the view.
I'll take the Llano caprock or as close to it as I can get every day of the week.
When I lived in Michigan we used to go the Michigan's UP hunting and fishing. Beautiful country but I don't like 6 months of winter. I know there isn't that much but it sure seemed like it.
Tennessee has some good buys but like everywhere else thee are some overpriced places. The property above us on the hill is for sale but he is asking $89K for a two bedroom house on 17 acres. I thought about buying the property and renting the house but they have zero flat land and I have all the rock and hills that I want.