Prices of houses vary significantly based on location. Quality of the neighborhood, taxes, land, location, distance from highways, etc. A $400,000 house can easily be worth $800,000 in the right neighborhood...hell, easily even more. Cost of land alone can go from $100,000 to $1 million over time...just from supply and demand...less land available, quality of the land, location, blah blah blah. When it comes to real estate, it's not really what a house or property is "worth", it's more about how much people are willing to pay for it...that raises its "worth" and value. I'm not speaking out of my ass, my dad is a developer in real estate, I know this stuff well.