Sold Oct 23
$1,100,000
Licensed in 50 states.
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,299 sq ft
100% of list price
Listing courtesy of Compass
San Diego Neighborhood Guide
Tierrasanta is a master-planned community in eastern San Diego, on the mesa north of the San Diego River and Mission Valley, between Interstate 15 and Mission Trails Regional Park. Built from 1971 on part of the former Camp Elliott Marine training ground, it is known for 1970s and 1980s homes and townhomes, more than 800 acres of community open space laced with canyon trails, and direct access to Mission Trails. Only a handful of roads lead in, which keeps through-traffic low and gives the community a self-contained feel.
Quick Facts
| Area | About 11 square miles (roughly 6,700 acres), about half of it within Mission Trails Regional Park |
|---|---|
| Planning area | Tierrasanta (City of San Diego; Council District 7) |
| ZIP code | 92124 |
| Boundaries | Interstate 15 on the west, State Route 52 and MCAS Miramar on the north, Mission Trails Regional Park and the City of Santee on the east, and the San Diego River and Friars Road on the south. |
| Founded | 1971 (first homes occupied in summer 1971; Elliott Community Plan 1962; Tierrasanta Community Plan adopted July 27, 1982) |
| Home types | Single-family homes and townhomes, plus condominiums and apartments; the Murphy Canyon military housing area holds about 2,300 units |
| Signature style | 1970s and 1980s master-planned tract homes and townhomes set along greenbelts and canyons |
| Price tier | Mid |
| Best for | buyers who want quiet streets, canyon trails and open space, direct access to Mission Trails Regional Park and a central location near Interstate 15 |
Jeff’s Take
I’ve sold and leased a lot of homes in Tierrasanta. It’s a master-planned community with more than 800 acres of open space, canyon trails and direct access to Mission Trails Regional Park.
Neighborhood schools, parks and greenbelts are woven through the community, and the streets are quiet and self-contained.
Who it’s not for: Tierrasanta has only a few ways in and out. If a short commute to the coast matters most, look at Clairemont or University City.
Tierrasanta vs. Allied Gardens: Tierrasanta is newer and more self-contained, with village-style tracts and greenbelts. Allied Gardens across the river valley is older, closer to I-8 and the trolley.
What buying in Tierrasanta often looks like
Say you find a 1980s home backing onto open space. Before we write, I check the fire-zone requirements for that edge, explain the open space maintenance assessment on the tax bill, and review the history of the former Camp Elliott land.
Market Snapshot
| Measure | Oct 2026 | Oct 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | $1,525,000 | $1,150,000 | +33% |
| Avg. price per sq. ft. | $631 | $639 | −1% |
| Homes sold | 5 | 7 | −29% |
| New listings | 11 | 6 | +83% |
| Median days on market | 12 | 12 | 0% |
| % of list price received | 101% | 95% | +6% |
| Months of inventory | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0% |
Single-family homes, ZIP 92124 (Tierrasanta), as of October 2026. Source: San Diego Multiple Listing Service (SDMLS) closed sales, compiled by Jeff Brick.
| Measure | Current listings |
|---|---|
| Median asking price | $1,200,000 |
| Median asking price per sq. ft. | $651 |
| Homes for sale | 17 |
| Median days on market (current listings) | 29 |
| Months of supply | 3.8 |
| HouseCanary 1-year price forecast | 2.0% |
Single-family homes, ZIP 92124, 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): 5 homes sold in October at a median of $1,525,000, up 33% from a year ago. With only 5 sales, these numbers can swing a lot from month to month. The median and the price per square foot moved differently, which points to a different mix of homes selling rather than a change in values. With 1.3 months of inventory, sellers have the edge, so come in with your financing ready.
A Few Recent Sales
Not every sale, just a few recent closings I picked to show what buyers are actually paying in Tierrasanta right now. Updated monthly · November 2026.
$1,100,000
Licensed in 50 states.
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,299 sq ft
100% of list price
Listing courtesy of Compass
$705,000
Macouba Place
4 bd · 3 ba · 1,400 sq ft
97.2% of list price
Listing courtesy of Coldwell Banker Realty
$1,580,000
Terraza Quintana
4 bd · 3 ba · 2,509 sq ft
103.9% of list price
Listing courtesy of Checkal Real Estate and Development
$1,125,000
Promesa Drive
4 bd · 2 ba · 2,007 sq ft
100% of list price
Listing courtesy of The Broker Network
$610,000
Caravelle Place
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,262 sq ft
103.4% of list price
Listing courtesy of Keller Williams Realty-SDNI
$1,150,000
Orozco Road
4 bd · 3 ba · 1,628 sq ft
100% of list price
Listing courtesy of eXp Realty of California
$900,000
Escobar Drive
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,185 sq ft
98.9% of list price
Listing courtesy of Realty Source
$1,260,000
La Cuenta Drive
4 bd · 3 ba · 2,032 sq ft
96.9% of list price
Listing courtesy of Keller Williams Realty-SDNI
$576,000
Calle Mariselda
2 bd · 1 ba · 1,203 sq ft
93.1% of list price
Listing courtesy of Coldwell Banker Realty
$1,240,000
Matador Court
3 bd · 3 ba · 3,011 sq ft
99.2% of list price
Listing courtesy of Coldwell Banker Realty
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
In the Spanish and Mexican eras, Tierrasanta’s mesa was ranch land. In 1941 the federal government acquired it as part of Camp Elliott, a large Marine Corps training base used heavily during World War II, including as an artillery range. The Marines left in 1944, the Navy took over, and the camp was deactivated in 1946. In 1961 the federal government sold the area, along with land now in Mission Trails Regional Park, to the City of San Diego, and the City issued the Elliott Community Plan in 1962. Christiana Community Builders opened the first three neighborhoods, Villa Monserate, Villa Barbados and the townhome community Villa Portofino, and the first households moved in during the summer of 1971. Tierrasanta Boulevard was the only way in, and the first supermarket center did not open until March 1975. The City adopted the Tierrasanta Community Plan on July 27, 1982, and the community was essentially built out by the early 1990s. Leftover wartime ordnance led to decades of federal cleanup sweeps, and the 2003 Cedar Fire burned into parts of the community.
Christiana Community Builders developed Tierrasanta’s first neighborhoods beginning in 1971, organizing the community into named villages. The opening villages were Villa Monserate and Villa Barbados with single-family homes and Villa Portofino with townhomes; at the 1971 Pacific Coast Builders Conference, Christiana won a Grand Award for Villa Monserate’s Plan 740, a two-story, four-bedroom home, plus an award for Villa Portofino and an award of merit for the community as a new town. Later villages included Villa Trinidad, and the northeastern area known as Tierrasanta Norte was still undeveloped in 1982 before filling in during the following decade. The Navy’s Murphy Canyon housing area in the southwest was built separately.
Architecture
Tierrasanta’s homes date mainly from the early 1970s through the early 1990s, so streets show the suburban design of that era rather than older historic styles. City historic context studies describe homes of this period in San Diego mostly as Tract Ranch and Contemporary. Builders offered detached plans, such as the two-story Plan 740, along with attached townhomes, and the community plan’s design guidance called for varied setbacks, colors and materials to avoid rows of identical houses, along with careful grading on hillsides. Neighborhoods are organized as named villages, separated by landscaped greenbelts and canyon open space that the community plan set aside to link with Mission Trails Regional Park.
Tierrasanta has no designated historic district, and its housing is too recent to be part of the City’s historic register in most cases. Its history is military rather than architectural: the land was part of Camp Elliott, a World War II Marine Corps training base, and wartime ordnance has been the subject of federal cleanup since the 1960s. Nearby in Mission Trails Regional Park, the community plan notes the Old Mission Dam historic site at the head of Mission Gorge. If a property is ever formally designated, its owner may apply for a Mills Act contract to reduce property taxes in exchange for preservation.
Living Here
Most of Tierrasanta is residential, with single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and apartments. Low-density neighborhoods were planned at roughly 5 to 10 homes per net acre, with townhome areas somewhat denser. Homes date mostly from 1971 to the early 1990s. The Murphy Canyon naval housing area in the southwest holds about 2,300 units and makes up about one-fifth of the community’s homes. Landscaped medians and the community’s open space are maintained through a City open space maintenance assessment district funded by property owners, and many townhome and condominium communities also have HOAs.
Daily life in Tierrasanta revolves around the outdoors. Mission Trails Regional Park borders the community on the east, with trailheads for Fortuna Mountain and the park’s peak-climbing routes, and canyon trails such as East and West Shepherd Canyon wind between neighborhoods. The Tierrasanta Recreation Center has sports fields, a pool, tennis courts and a gym, plus Damato Park. Errands center on a few neighborhood shopping centers along Tierrasanta Boulevard and Santo Road. Community traditions include a concert-in-the-park series, an annual parade and Oktoberfest, and the Tierrasanta Community Council has served residents since 1971.
Getting Around
Walk Score: 30 (Car-Dependent). Source: https://www.walkscore.com/CA/San_Diego/Tierrasanta · Transit Score: 17 (https://www.walkscore.com/CA/San_Diego/Tierrasanta) · Bike Score: 30 (https://www.walkscore.com/CA/San_Diego/Tierrasanta)
Tierrasanta is served by San Diego Unified School District’s Canyon Hills community of schools: Canyon Hills High School, De Portola and Farb middle schools, and Hancock, Kumeyaay, Miller, Tierrasanta and Vista Grande elementary schools. The Charter School of San Diego also has a Tierrasanta location. School assignments follow attendance boundaries, so confirm schools for a specific address with the district.
Mission Trails Regional Park (including Fortuna Mountain), Tierrasanta’s community open space and canyon trail system, East Shepherd Canyon, West Shepherd Canyon, the Tierrasanta Recreation Center, Damato Park, and the Admiral Baker golf courses below the mesa to the south.
Explore Tierrasanta
Public and charter schools closest to the heart of Tierrasanta.
San Diego Unified
San Diego Unified
San Diego Unified
San Diego Unified
San Diego Unified
San Diego Unified
San Diego Unified
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 Tierrasanta.
Park data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Distances are approximate, measured from the center of Tierrasanta.
Tierrasanta sits on a mesa in eastern San Diego, east of Interstate 15 and Kearny Mesa and north of Mission Valley and the San Diego River. MCAS Miramar lies across State Route 52 to the north, and Mission Trails Regional Park wraps the community’s eastern side, separating it from Santee. Allied Gardens and San Carlos are to the south across the river valley.
Local Favorites
Peruvian sandwich shop
5950 Santo Rd, Suite K, San Diego, CA 92124
Directions →Hawaiian plate-lunch restaurant
10601 Tierrasanta Blvd, San Diego, CA 92124
Directions →Photos, ratings and links from Google Maps
FAQ
Not very for errands; it has a Walk Score of 30, and most trips require a car. For recreation it is excellent, with canyon trails and greenbelts that connect neighborhoods to Mission Trails Regional Park.
Tierrasanta is a quiet, self-contained community with little through-traffic. Residents spend time on the trails, at the recreation center and pool, and at a few neighborhood shopping centers along Santo Road and Tierrasanta Boulevard.
Public students attend San Diego Unified’s Canyon Hills community of schools, including Canyon Hills High, De Portola and Farb middle schools, and several elementary schools. Confirm assigned schools for any address with the district.
Downtown is typically 15 to 20 minutes away by car without traffic via Interstate 15. The nearest beaches are roughly 20 to 30 minutes west, depending on traffic.
The area was a World War II training ground, and federal cleanups have removed large amounts of old ordnance from the open space. Officials still advise anyone who finds a suspicious metal object to leave it alone, mark the location and call 911.
Not in the traditional sense. Homes date from 1971 onward, and there is no historic district, though the community’s Camp Elliott history is well documented.
Both sit beside Mission Trails Regional Park. Tierrasanta is a newer master-planned community from the 1970s and 1980s with greenbelts and a dedicated open space district, while Allied Gardens is an older, established neighborhood across the river valley.
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: Mission Valley · Clairemont · University City / UTC · Allied Gardens / Del Cerro · San Carlos
Header photo: RightCowLeftCoast (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.
Sources
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