Sold Oct 28
$2,075,000
Doris Drive
3 bd · 2 ba · 2,123 sq ft
103.8% of list price
Listing courtesy of Compass
San Diego Neighborhood Guide
Encinitas is a coastal city in North County San Diego, about 25 miles north of downtown, stretching six miles along the Pacific between San Elijo Lagoon and Batiquitos Lagoon. Incorporated in 1986, it joined five communities: Old Encinitas, New Encinitas, Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Leucadia and semi-rural Olivenhain. It is known for surf beaches such as Moonlight Beach, the historic Downtown 101 and Leucadia Highway 101 corridors, the 1928 La Paloma Theatre, the San Diego Botanic Garden, and Olivenhain’s large-lot, horse-trail neighborhoods.
Quick Facts
| Area | About 21 square miles |
|---|---|
| Planning area | City of Encinitas (independent city) with five communities: Old Encinitas, New Encinitas, Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Leucadia and Olivenhain |
| ZIP codes | 92007, 92023, 92024 |
| Boundaries | The Pacific Ocean on the west, Batiquitos Lagoon and Carlsbad on the north, San Elijo Lagoon and Solana Beach on the south, and the Olivenhain hills toward Rancho Santa Fe on the east. |
| Founded | Old Encinitas townsite formed in 1881; incorporated as a city effective October 1, 1986 |
| Home types | Single-family homes dominate, from beach cottages and mid-century tracts near the coast to custom homes on half-acre to five-acre lots in Olivenhain, with condominiums and townhomes mixed in |
| Signature style | Beach cottages and early 1900s commercial fronts along Highway 101, mid-century tract homes, and ranch-style and custom estate homes in Olivenhain |
| Price tier | Luxury |
| Best for | Buyers who want surf beaches, distinct village districts along Highway 101, a Coaster station, and options ranging from walkable coastal streets to semi-rural large lots |
Jeff’s Take
I’ve sold and leased a lot of homes in Encinitas. Cardiff, Leucadia, Old Encinitas and Olivenhain each have their own character, from surf beaches to semi-rural acreage.
It’s a luxury market built around Highway 101’s village corridors and some of North County’s best beaches.
Who it’s not for: Encinitas is a coastal city with bluffs and fire-zone areas inland. If you want a master-planned neighborhood, look at Carlsbad.
Encinitas vs. Carlsbad: Encinitas is smaller and more village-scaled, built around separate beach communities along Highway 101. Carlsbad has more master-planned neighborhoods.
What buying in Encinitas often looks like
Say you find a home in Leucadia near the bluffs. Before we write, I check bluff stability and coastal permits, confirm the fire-zone status if it’s inland, and review Olivenhain’s lot and lighting rules if that’s where you land.
Market Snapshot
| Measure | Oct 2026 | Oct 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | $2,300,000 | $2,250,000 | +2% |
| Avg. price per sq. ft. | $1,180 | $1,043 | +13% |
| Homes sold | 25 | 31 | −19% |
| New listings | 29 | 54 | −46% |
| Median days on market | 14 | 23 | −39% |
| % of list price received | 98% | 98% | 0% |
| Months of inventory | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0% |
Single-family homes, City of Encinitas, as of October 2026. Source: San Diego Multiple Listing Service (SDMLS) closed sales, compiled by Jeff Brick.
| Measure | Current listings |
|---|---|
| Median asking price | $2,995,000 |
| Median asking price per sq. ft. | $1,009 |
| Homes for sale | 85 |
| Median days on market (current listings) | 70 |
| Months of supply | 3.6 |
Single-family homes, City of Encinitas, listings on the market as of November 3, 2026. Source: HouseCanary Market Insights. Asking prices are what sellers are listing for, not final sale prices.
Jeff’s note (Q4 2026): 25 homes sold in October at a median of $2,300,000, about flat from a year ago. At 2.5 months of inventory the market is fairly balanced: well-priced homes sell, and overpriced ones sit.
A Few Recent Sales
Not every sale, just a few recent closings I picked to show what buyers are actually paying in Encinitas right now. Updated monthly · November 2026.
$2,075,000
Doris Drive
3 bd · 2 ba · 2,123 sq ft
103.8% of list price
Listing courtesy of Compass
$1,573,500
Snapdragon Street
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,367 sq ft
93.1% of list price
Listing courtesy of Compass
$260,000
North El Camino Real
2 bd · 2 ba · 1,740 sq ft
94.5% of list price
Listing courtesy of Compass
$1,275,000
Catania Court
2 bd · 2 ba · 973 sq ft
82.3% of list price
Listing courtesy of Compass
$5,700,000
Neptune Avenue
3 bd · 3 ba · 2,660 sq ft
100% of list price
Listing courtesy of Compass
$8,700,000
Hymettus Avenue
5 bd · 7 ba · 6,550 sq ft
87.9% of list price
Listing courtesy of Compass
$2,150,000
Leeann Lane
4 bd · 2 ba · 2,246 sq ft
83.4% of list price
Listing courtesy of Compass
$940,000
North Vulcan Avenue
2 bd · 2 ba · 960 sq ft
99.1% of list price
Listing courtesy of Compass
$2,300,000
Andrew Avenue
4 bd · 3 ba · 2,065 sq ft
85.2% of list price
Listing courtesy of Coldwell Banker Realty
$1,920,000
Alexandra Lane
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,625 sq ft
101.3% of list price
Listing courtesy of Compass
Sold information from the San Diego MLS (SDMLS®), deemed reliable but not guaranteed. These homes may have been listed and sold by other brokerages; they are shown to illustrate the local market, not as Jeff Brick’s own sales. Want the full list of recent sales or a value estimate for your home? Ask Jeff.
History
Kumeyaay people lived around San Elijo Lagoon long before Spanish explorers under Gaspar de Portola passed through in 1769 and named the valley for its oaks; Encinitas means little oaks in Spanish. In 1842 the Rancho Las Encinitas land grant was made to Andres Ybarra. Jabez Pitcher formed the town of Old Encinitas in 1881, and when trains began stopping on new tracks in 1883, the Hammond family arrived and built the schoolhouse that is now the city’s oldest standing building. German immigrants organized by Theodore Pinther founded the Olivenhain colony in 1884 and built their meeting hall in 1895. In 1909 Boston developer J. Frank Cullen began selling lots in Cardiff, named for his wife’s hometown in Wales, while Leucadia took its name from a Greek island. Farming and the Ecke family’s ranch lands shaped much of the inland landscape. Residents incorporated the city in 1986, partly to gain local control over growth, and the Ecke Ranch properties were added in 1994.
Each community began with its own founders. Jabez Pitcher formed Old Encinitas in 1881, and the town grew around the rail stop. In Olivenhain, Theodore Pinther and Conrad Stroebel arranged the purchase of Rancho Las Encinitas land for a German colony that arrived in 1884. J. Frank Cullen bought land in 1909 and laid out Cardiff, giving many streets English and Welsh names such as Oxford, Birmingham and Manchester, and he built a pier and hotel in 1912. In Leucadia, a San Diego development company gave streets Greco-Roman names such as Neptune, Hymettus and Phoebe. Post-war growth added tracts such as Poinsettia Heights in Cardiff in the late 1950s, and the former Ecke Ranch lands, annexed in 1994, became Encinitas Ranch with its golf course and town center.
Architecture
Encinitas has no single dominant style; its look comes from small historic buildings spread across its five communities. The 1883 Schoolhouse on West F Street is a simple wood-frame building from the town’s first years. The Encinitas Boathouses on Third Street, designed by Miles Kellogg in the late 1920s, are two homes shaped like ships, built with timber salvaged from the 1888 Moonlight Beach Dance Parlor, complete with portholes. The La Paloma Theatre has operated on Coast Highway 101 since 1928, and the Downtown 101 district keeps early twentieth-century storefronts. In Cardiff, the J. Frank Cullen House dates to about 1912, and in Olivenhain the 1895 wood meeting hall anchors a semi-rural area of custom homes, rail fences and winding roads. Most residential streets feature beach cottages, mid-century ranch houses and newer custom rebuilds.
The City’s Register of Historic Places lists the Olivenhain Town Meeting Hall at 423 Rancho Santa Fe Road (National Register, 1993), the Encinitas Boathouses at 726 and 732 Third Street (National Register, October 2019), and the Bumann Ranch at 3666 Bumann Road (National Register, March 2020). The Berhalter residence at 221 Sunset Drive was locally designated in 2005 with a Mills Act contract, showing that the property tax incentive has been used in the city. The La Paloma Theatre has been found eligible for the National and California registers. The Encinitas Historical Society restored and operates the 1883 Schoolhouse at 390 West F Street.
Living Here
Housing varies sharply by community. Near the coast in Old Encinitas, Leucadia and Cardiff, streets mix older beach cottages, mid-century homes, remodels and newer rebuilds with condominiums and townhomes mixed in. New Encinitas and Encinitas Ranch hold later subdivisions and planned neighborhoods. Olivenhain is mainly single-family custom homes on relatively large lots, with minimum lot sizes ranging from about half an acre to five acres and a dark-sky lighting policy. Because the city is largely built out, most new housing comes from infill and redevelopment; buyers should check each property for HOA obligations.
Life revolves around the beach and the Highway 101 corridor. Downtown Encinitas has surf shops, cafes, bars and the La Paloma Theatre, with Moonlight Beach nearby. Leucadia’s stretch of the 101 has a more laid-back mix of taco shops, galleries and coffee houses, and a Sunday farmers market. Cardiff-by-the-Sea has its own small restaurant row, Seaside Market and the Magic Carpet Ride surfer statue near San Elijo Lagoon. Inland, the San Diego Botanic Garden, Encinitas Ranch Golf Course and Olivenhain’s horse and walking trails add open space. Downtown events run through the year, including a spring street fair.
Getting Around
Walk Score: Encinitas citywide 43 (Car-Dependent); ZIP 92007 (Cardiff area) 51; ZIP 92024 41. Walk Score does not publish separate scores for Leucadia, Olivenhain or Old Encinitas. Source: https://www.walkscore.com/CA/Encinitas · Transit Score: Not published by Walk Score for Encinitas · Bike Score: 35 citywide (https://www.walkscore.com/CA/Encinitas)
Public schools are split among several districts. Encinitas Union School District runs nine elementary schools, including Capri, Flora Vista, Ocean Knoll, Olivenhain Pioneer, Park Dale Lane and Paul Ecke Central. Cardiff School District serves Cardiff. For grades 7-12, San Dieguito Union High School District assigns Encinitas and Cardiff to Diegueno or Oak Crest middle schools and La Costa Canyon High School, and San Dieguito Academy and Canyon Crest Academy admit by open enrollment. Private options include The Grauer School and The Rhoades School. Confirm assignments by address.
Moonlight State Beach, Beacon’s Beach, Grandview Beach, Cardiff-area beaches along San Elijo Lagoon, San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve, Batiquitos Lagoon, the San Diego Botanic Garden, Encinitas Ranch Golf Course, Manchester Reserve and Olivenhain’s trail network.
Explore Encinitas (Cardiff & Leucadia)
Public and charter schools closest to the heart of Encinitas (Cardiff & Leucadia).
Julian Union Elementary
San Dieguito Union High
Encinitas Union Elementary
Encinitas Union Elementary
Cardiff Elementary
San Dieguito Union High
School assignment depends on the exact address, so confirm the schools for any home with the school district. Source: California Department of Education, 2024–25 school sites. Report cards link to the official California School Dashboard.
Green space, trails and play areas in and around Encinitas (Cardiff & Leucadia).
Park data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Distances are approximate, measured from the center of Encinitas (Cardiff & Leucadia).
Encinitas sits on the North County coast about 25 miles north of downtown San Diego, between Solana Beach and Carlsbad. San Elijo Lagoon forms its southern edge and Batiquitos Lagoon its northern edge. Interstate 5 runs through the city, with the beach communities of Leucadia, downtown and Cardiff to the west and New Encinitas and Olivenhain rising inland toward Rancho Santa Fe.
Local Favorites
Coffee house (since 1968)
510 N Coast Hwy 101, Encinitas, CA 92024
Directions →Neighborhood grocery and deli (opened 1985)
2087 San Elijo Ave, Cardiff-by-the-Sea, CA 92007
Directions →Breakfast and lunch cafe (since 1983)
120 W I St, Encinitas, CA 92024
Directions →Historic movie theater (operating since 1928)
471 S Coast Hwy 101, Encinitas, CA 92024
Directions →Photos, ratings and links from Google Maps
FAQ
Parts are. Downtown Encinitas, Leucadia’s Highway 101 corridor and central Cardiff let you walk to cafes, shops and the beach, and the 92007 ZIP scores 51 on Walk Score. Citywide the score is 43, and inland areas such as Olivenhain are car-dependent.
The city combines Old Encinitas (downtown and Moonlight Beach), New Encinitas inland beyond a low coastal ridge, Cardiff-by-the-Sea to the south, Leucadia to the north and semi-rural Olivenhain to the east. Each has its own commercial strip and character.
Most elementary students attend Encinitas Union School District, and Cardiff has its own elementary district. Middle and high school students are generally assigned to Diegueno or Oak Crest middle schools and La Costa Canyon High in the San Dieguito Union High School District; confirm by address.
Encinitas is about 25 miles north of downtown, typically 30 to 35 minutes by car without traffic. The Coaster from Encinitas station runs to downtown San Diego.
Yes, though they are scattered. Landmarks include the 1883 Schoolhouse, the ship-shaped Boathouses on Third Street and the 1895 Olivenhain Meeting Hall, and some designated homes carry Mills Act contracts.
Olivenhain is the city’s semi-rural eastern community, with custom homes on half-acre to five-acre lots, rail fences, winding two-lane roads and trails for horses, bikes and walkers. A dark-sky policy keeps outdoor lighting low.
Encinitas is smaller and organized around several beach villages along Highway 101, while Carlsbad is larger, with a central village plus extensive master-planned neighborhoods, resorts and attractions such as Legoland. Both have Coaster stations.
Work With Jeff
Jeff Brick, San Diego REALTOR® at Compass, DRE# 02156850. Million Dollar Service at All Price Points. Call or text 858-324-4448.
Nearby neighborhood guides: Del Mar · Solana Beach · Carlsbad & La Costa · Oceanside · Rancho Santa Fe
Header photo: Mikefairbanks (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons.
Sources
Real numbers for your neighborhood from the San Diego MLS, a short note from Jeff, and the homes worth seeing. One email a month. Unsubscribe any time.
Chat with Jeff
Real person, real answers. Usually replies within minutes.
Hi, I'm Jeff. Ask me anything about buying, selling or the San Diego market, and I'll text you back personally.
Got it, thanks! I'll text you shortly at the number you gave. — Jeff
In a hurry? Text or call (858) 324-4448.