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.
As long as it is cheaper by about 20% (relevant of course to location,location,location) to buy an existing house than build a new one it makes sense to buy rather than rent or newbuild.
P.S. Jim, this is what the Brits think about US property http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/houseprices/8968616/Americans-ditch-home-ownership.html
LOL @ Junebugs! 😀
Glad you found your way out, Jim. It’s looks like you could get lost in that place!
Our house hunting has been exclusively focused in the Carlsbad area because it allows us the opportunity to tap the economic markets of both OC and SD counties. Yes, that is a wicked amount of driving, but Carlsbad is strategically located to have quick access to all the major freeways.
Additionally, it is only a matter of time before air traffic increases significantly at Palomar, so the idea of having an alternate airport to travel in and out of is a bonus too. Just so long as you don’t live near Palomar.