If you work/play around regular San Diego, it’s worth considering a smaller house/better location combination closer to town. If you don’t mind spending over $1 million, I think you are going to see some reasonably-good buys in Carmel Valley/Del Mar Heights/PB and hopefully even La Jolla in the coming months.

On the other hand, if you want/need a big house and want better value, Encinitas and Carlsbad offer both, around $200/sf or so.

Simple advice: buy the right-sized house that you can comfortably afford as far south as possible.