I live in the bay collection, the only negative I can think of this community is that its not gated, but that’s just my preference. It’s pretty peaeful and my lot is around 9,000 sq ft (usable) which is a little less than average for the neighborhood.
It’s so close to everything and has a real coastal feel that you don’t really get in LaCosta Valley or LaCosta Oaks. If you want quality, stay on the chesapeake bay side of the community (Heron Circle & Sagebrush). I agree that there are some overpriced homes in the neighborhood, people I think who are just testing the market. There’s one on Heron Circle for sale at around 1,650,000 that is really nice with a HUGE backyard, but a little noisy (outside only) because it does back up to poinsettia. There’s another priced at around 2.1M with nice panoramic ocean views and a really nice pool/spa (around 4200+ sq ft). I’d say the price is comp to what you’d find on Lynwood St in Encinitas Ranch, but the yard is much larger and the quality of the home is far superior.
We looked at purchasing in Encinitas Ranch, and the homes on Lynwood (built by KHovanian) have really aged poorly, the quality of the materials just don’t make the homes feel like they’re worthy of their $1.75M and up price tags. I will say I like their appearance, very stately, but they’re all on tiny little lots, and even the premium ocean view lots back up to houses, so it’s not really all that panoramic.
Also, the homes in Encinitas Ranch were built at a time when the market was hot so the builder included no real upgrades in the homes and people weren’t putting too much into them.
The latter phases of the Bay Collection was being built during a softer market (05 thru 07) and Std Pacific was including a lot of content (travertine flooring, travertine bath tile/counters, wine chillers, wrought iron stairs, landscape packages, etc. etc.). Doesn’t hurt to take a look.
