An article in the North County Times from late 2005.
Those were the days of low home prices and easier financing (though not as easy as the no-doc days in 2005-2008). As a result, it was the real Golden Age because everyone could participate.
The last five years were juiced with ultra-low mortgage rates and now the market is restricted to the affluent only due to the much-higher prices. But the returns were similar (or better in Encinitas and RSF) to what they were in the 2000-2005 era: