It’s more than buying a house, It’s buying a way of life.
Where You Live Becomes How You Live
photo by Summer Kellogg
North County San Diego—Encinitas, Carlsbad, Oceanside and beyond—isn’t just a place to live. It’s a lifestyle people are actively competing for: ocean air, good schools, walkable coffee, and a version of California that still feels (somewhat) human.
The reality check is we don’t want to romanticize it too much. People still have to work here, go to school, pay bills, walk their dogs and keep their abs. Also buying in North County asks a lot of you. Financially. You’ll question what feels reasonable. You’ll stretch your definition of “worth it.” And yet— people keep buying here. Because this isn’t just a housing decision. It’s a decision about how you want to live your life.
When you buy here, you’re not just paying for square footage. You’re paying for that proximity to the ocean, an outside lifestyle, seeing people that know you (and your dogs), and access to a version of that romantic small town community. Yes it still exists.
You might get less house for your buck or a smaller backyard. But that’s the quiet agreement people make. You’re not moving here to homestead but to be first 30 at Bump Coffee, e-bike to your fav surf spot, drive around in golf carts, walk lagoons and send your kids to schools with a surf team.
At some point, decisions stop being about whether the market is “good.” It becomes: Do I want my life to be here? Because North County isn’t a place people move to later. It’s a place people rearrange their lives to be part of for all of this access. But lets get to the logistics about it. Real estate agents in the area are a plenty. Homes markets are cooling but there’s no shortage of people buying and selling here. We talked to local legendary Real Estate agent Nick Mazza who is the expert shepard of transplant buyers and local first time home buyers in Encinitas about easing nerves about ticket prices and how buyers end up here.
Encinitas based real estate agent Nick Mazza - The locals man. Photo by Summer Kellogg.
“Encinitas isn’t a place people just end up. It’s a place people choose. More often than not, it’s the place clients tell me they want to be before anything else even matters. And once they feel it, we’ll all do what it takes to get them here. People come for the lifestyle. They stay for the community.”
According to Zillow and Ruby Home, median home prices fall somewhere between 1.9m and 2.5m for coastal Encinitas with costs dramatically dropping once your cross over El Camino Real into La Costa or Bressi Ranch. However in Oceanside median home prices fall under 1 million to 1.8m. To someone outside of California these numbers are mind blowing. “We’re not paying to live in our house”, one local resident said. “I paid 2.8 million to live outside and walk to the beach and eat locally grown food and surf everyday.”
As Nick points out, “Price matters. It should. Real estate here isn’t cheap. But when you zoom out, it becomes less about bed and bath count and more about how you want everyday life to feel. It’s a beach town filled with people who genuinely enjoy where they live and who they’re surrounded by. Longtime locals, new and old transplants, families, creatives, entrepreneurs. It all blends together in a way that just feels easy. People are building, creating, and doing incredible things. Life here feels more connected, more intentional, and honestly, happier, healthier and better. And it shows up in the everyday moments. Grabbing coffee and running into someone you know. Seeing familiar faces at the farmers market. Conversations that happen without planning them.”
need more beach bungalows
So lets say someone is sold on the why. When we buy a house one of the first hangups is “what shape is it in”. Is it move in ready? Can I live here? What kind of “work” does it need?”. Let’s make this as painless as possible.
NICK: “I understand the subtle differences between micro-neighborhoods, the tradeoffs that actually matter, and how to match someone not just to a home, but to a lifestyle. That comes from the questions I ask, the listening I do, and the steady communication before, during, and after a transaction.
SUM: You also naturally connect all over town. I know you’re a surfer, you’ve got kids, your wife is active in the community. I feel like once you buy a house here or with someone like you it comes with a roster of help and recommendations.
NICK: “I’m here as a resource for whatever you need. Tradespeople, restaurants, doctors, schools, where your in-laws should stay, best coffee or breakfast bagel in town. I’ve got you covered. Maybe it’s my hospitality background, but making people feel supported is just how I operate. I also came here as a transplant, originally to surf… I mean go to college… or really just to chase the California dream. I spent years working in restaurants, starting a clothing brand, building an events business and booking DJs, then over a decade in software while flipping and investing in real estate. Today, I help people find their place here, as a full-time realtor, which is where I first started my career many years ago.”
House on the ocean cliffs of the hwy 101. Not for sale.
Once people nail a spot down in one of many micro neighborhoods as Nick said, the fun begins. I say fun because historically people talk as though a remodel is such a heavy burden. But we talked to local architect Alec Petros who’s sunlit perspective on settling people into a location matches his always positive demeanor. He gives us permission to not rush and, in true Encinitas chill out fashion, take a moment to understand the place and new rythym of life one just bought. His view is a house isn’t just a set of walls and bathrooms. He designs homes to accommodate personalities and lifestyle (see our article about him specifically here).
Alec Petros, Architect based in Encinitas. Photo by Summer Kellogg.
ALEC: “The advantages born from designing a home from the ground up, as opposed to being handed a set of keys from a flipper or JUMPING straight into construction, are significant. It’s actually quite rare for someone to experience a home that’s been carefully shaped around how they live. An analogy comes to mind that’s a bit more universal: imagine choosing between a restaurant that serves only one fixed dish that’s ready to go versus one where you can order exactly what suits your taste, your mood, or even your health you just have to wait for it to be prepped and cooked. Designing a home is similar but with much higher stakes, because the outcome shapes your daily life in a lasting way.”
NEED TO WORK THIS PART OUT - Statistically home buyers buy a home here and immediately jump in to “fix” something before doing what’s later called a large haul remodel or rebuild. Patching up or working through some kinks before doing a major overhaul years later often works out for the better resulting in a home that fits newcomers way of living. Talking through a design process with architects or even general contractors can vary but the ones who seem to have the best record of success, especially here will tell you to slow down, coincidentally matching the new pace of life :)
“What often gets lost in the rush to start work or get a turn-key home is the value of pausing long enough to understand what a space could be. It’s completely natural to want to make a home your own but that process benefits enormously from being intentional, and even a bit slow. There’s a difference between changing a space and truly transforming it to match you. The first intent is reactive and can often result in a space that doesn’t match you now in a new setting; the second is thoughtful and layered. Taking the time to study how light moves through a home, how rooms relate to one another, how a family actually lives across seasons, these are the things that turn a house into something deeply personal and enduring. I think this is one of the most exciting parts of the design process because unexpected ideas can emerge that can be so powerful.”
Alec Petros Encinitas Architect and Designer in front of a blank slate.
DRAFT PROCESS: Find a way to buy the location. THEN settle in. Don’t rush the transformation of place while you settle in. And yes things can take time to build but also it’s not going to take as long as people try to scare you into thinking. Because once you know who you are the plan unfolds at the same pace. There’s no rush. In fact as someone who spent those first 2 years mapping things out to fit vs just throwing something together, we have ended up with an on time and shorter build than 80% of our friends. I credit it to planning and a great great GC and Architect team.
