1500 ft is not nearby, it’s quite far. What is the Mello Roos rate, is it 1.7%?
It’s been a while since I looked at prices in San Elijo, but 500K for 3200 sq ft seems okay to me, unless there are problems with location (e.g. backing up to a busy road). Sure, the backyard is small, but all backyards in all tract houses built in the county since 2000 are small.