Should I sell my Colorado rentals and invest somewhere else?

[Mark Ferguson]

I have 15 rentals in Colorado that I have bought over the last five years. Most of the houses I purchased from $80k to $130k, made repairs and rented for $1,200 to $1,600 a month. 

I looked at my last couple of purchases and my quality of property is decreasing. Prices have basically doubled in the last four years. Rents have increased but not by nearly as much as prices. 

Now I am lucky to buy a house for $165,000 that needs $15k in work and rents for $1,500 a month. That is finding a smoking deal. 

So I have decided to buy out of state. Florida has really caught my eye. The next question becomes do I keep my rentals here or sell them and exchange into new properties elsewhere?

I figure I have 1.3 million in equity after selling costs in my rentals and they bring in about $7,500 in cash flow a month. Great cash flow for what I bought them for, but not ideal for how much equity there is now. 

So is it worthwhile to sell some of my properties or all of them here and buy new rentals using 1031 exchanges elsewhere with better cash flow? If I can find good financing I should be able to buy 3 new properties for every property I sell. That would get me to my goal to buy 100 much quicker!