SD Realtor here (as opposed to sdr). sdr is smack in the middle of that north county coastal and he is quite adept with those neighborhoods. I know them and have done work in them but have nowhere near the daily background that he does with those areas. I am more familiar as you head south down and also out on the I15 corridor east.
I agree with the assessment of Del Sur and Santa Luz. They are nice areas and IMO nicer then say the 4S Ranch bucket of homes. However as sdr said, they have hefty overhead with Mello Roos and HOA fees. Also for the price range you have mentioned I think you can get closer to the coast. The size of the yard and the school districts will be challenging. Solana Beach has older housing stock. If you are selective you will be able to find something you like in your price range with a large lot. My wife and I frequently look there but only in our dreams because of the prices. At your price range you can definitely find something there. The view thing is a possibility. In Carmel Valley so much of it is cookie cutter but there are older parts of CV to the west and north that may indeed fit your criteria. To be more specific there is a nice subdivision off of El Camino Real, north of Del Mar Heights road known as the Heights. These homes average about 2500 square feet but have no Mello Roos and about a 70 per month HOA. Lots sizes are okay, anywhere from 6000-9000 sf..not huge but you get a fair sized yard depending on the orientation of the home. Schools are good, and proximity to the coast blows away anything like Del Sur, or Santa Luz. Finally in that price range you have there is a possibility of getting something like Cardiff as well… again, the lot size (specially on the west of 5) is speculative.
sdr – what about something for here down towards the open space where El Camino dumps to Manchester? I don’t know that area to well. I am sure you know it better but it seems like there is some cool stuff tucked away back there that has more personality then Olivenhain… or am I mistaken.
