Encinitas Home Prices Went Up This Year. How Much of That Is the Houses?

In the 12 months ending October 2026, the median detached home in Encinitas's 92024 ZIP code sold for 6.8% more than in the prior 12 months, reaching $2,242,500. Over the same period, the median price per square foot rose 3.5%, from $943.9 to $977.2. On top of that, roughly half of those sales included a seller credit at closing, and neither figure reflects it.

Those three numbers come from the same Pacific Southwest Association of REALTORS® data for 92024. Over the past year, a large part of what looks like Encinitas appreciation came from a change in which homes sold. Cardiff-by-the-Sea shows the same pattern, and its gap is even wider.

The Credit That Comes Before the Median

The friction a buyer runs into first is in the closing paperwork. For detached homes in 92024, PSAR puts the median seller credit at $10,000 for the 12 months ending October 2026, up from $9,500 a year earlier. For the year to date, the median was $10,000, compared with $7,000 at the same point in 2025. PSAR's figure counts only sales that included a credit, which is about half of all sales, and it leaves out payments to the buyer's agent.

Asking prices showed the same pressure in September. Both the Greater San Diego Association of REALTORS® and North San Diego County REALTORS® reported that 92024 detached sellers received 94.1% of their original list price that month. A year earlier, the figure was 96.1% in one association's report and 96.4% in the other's. In October, both associations reported 97.3%. So the discount from original list price rises and falls from month to month, while the year-to-date credit figure has gone up.

Credits and price cuts both mean the median sale price is a little higher than what sellers actually net. The bigger difference between the median and what homes are worth comes from which homes made up the year's sales.

Half the Gain Came From What Sold

PSAR divides the year's 92024 detached sales by price range. The mix moved noticeably toward the top.

Sales between $1 million and $1.5 million fell 42.2%. Sales over $2 million rose 16.8% and now make up 60% of all detached closings, up from 54.4% a year earlier. When more of the sales are larger or better-located homes, the median rises even if no individual home has gained value.

Price per square foot is less affected by that shift, because it adjusts for size. In 92024 it rose 3.5% while the median rose 6.8%. The average sale price grew faster than either, up 9.2% to $2,648,015, which suggests the high end pulled the averages up. For a buyer comparing two similar homes a year apart, the per-square-foot change is the closer measure.

Cardiff Shows the Same Pattern, With a Wider Gap

The City of Encinitas describes itself as five communities: New Encinitas, Old Encinitas, Leucadia, Olivenhain and Cardiff-by-the-Sea. For mail, it is two ZIP codes, 92024 and Cardiff's 92007. The two ZIP codes are priced very differently.

According to PSAR's Cardiff page, the detached median in 92007 rose 17.8% to $2,750,000 over the 12 months ending October 2026. Median price per square foot rose 8.6%, from $1,160.5 to $1,260.0. Here too, price per square foot rose about half as fast as the median. Sales over $2 million made up 76.1% of Cardiff's 67 detached closings.

Per square foot, Cardiff is much closer to its southern neighbors than to the rest of Encinitas. Here are PSAR's figures for detached homes over the 12 months ending October 2026:

• 92014 Del Mar: $1,290.5 per square foot
• 92075 Solana Beach: $1,278.9 per square foot
• 92007 Cardiff-by-the-Sea: $1,260.0 per square foot
• 92024 Encinitas: $977.2 per square foot

Cardiff and 92024 are in the same city, but Cardiff's square footage is priced about 29% higher. A citywide Encinitas median combines both ZIP codes, and it also covers Olivenhain, Leucadia, Old Encinitas and New Encinitas within 92024. That makes it a poor guide to what a particular street costs.

A Month of Cardiff Is Two to Four Closings

Since the yearly figures already change with the mix of homes sold, monthly figures change even more. Cardiff's October 2026 detached results show how much.

Each report states which MLS it draws on. SDAR uses the San Diego MLS, and North San Diego County REALTORS® uses CRMLS. CRMLS describes a data share with the San Diego MLS. Even so, with two or four sales in a month, one estate closing can double the median.

The larger 92024 market moves this way too. In September 2026, SDAR reported a 92024 detached median of $2,300,000 on 21 closings, up 5.6% from a year earlier. North San Diego County REALTORS® reported $1,860,000 on 29 closings, down 11.8%. In the same month, North San Diego County REALTORS® put the average detached sale at $2,667,540, up 17%. Because the median fell while the average rose, September's closings were concentrated at the two ends of the price range.

Speed Depends on Where the Clock Stops

Different reports also measure time on market differently. PSAR reports Days Active in MLS, which runs until a home goes under contract. For 92024 detached homes it was 16 days over the 12 months ending October 2026, down from 18. The association reports instead track Days on Market Until Sale. For October 2026, that figure was 42 days in SDAR's report, up from 35, and 23 days in North San Diego County REALTORS®' report, down from 35.

A 16-day figure measures how quickly a well-priced home finds a buyer. A figure in the 40s also includes escrow and any listings that sat before selling. Both are accurate, but they measure different stretches of the sale.

Where the Next Homes Come From

Supply has tightened at the same time. As of November 4, 2026, PSAR counted 72 detached homes for sale in 92024, or 2.4 months of supply. Cardiff had 7 homes, or 1.3 months. New detached listings in 92024 fell sharply in October. SDAR counted 26, compared with 54 in October 2025, and North San Diego County REALTORS® counted 23, compared with 63. Cardiff had 3 new detached listings in SDAR's October report.

The best-known new single-family project in the city is Ocean Bluff, a Rincon Homes subdivision at 501 Ocean Bluff Way in Old Encinitas. The site is on the north side of Ocean Bluff Way between Camino de Orchidia and Camino El Dorado, south of Encinitas Boulevard. The plan calls for 27 detached homes on a 7.188-acre site, with the steep-slope portion kept as open space. The Coast News reported that the project includes 24 market-rate homes and three deed-restricted very-low-income homes. Those affordable homes qualify it for a state density bonus that raises the count from a base of 18 to 27. The Planning Commission approved it 4-0 on May 7, 2026, and the City Council upheld that approval on June 24. Under the conditions of approval in the City's June 24 staff report, a steep-slope open-space easement must be submitted before a grading permit can be issued. Because the project is a single subdivision of new homes, it would also affect the median, depending on when its sales close.

Short Answers

What did a detached home in Encinitas typically sell for in the past year? In the 12 months ending October 2026, PSAR reports a median of $2,242,500 in 92024 and $2,750,000 in Cardiff 92007.

Which figure best reflects a change in value? Median price per square foot is less affected by changes in which homes sold. It rose 3.5% in 92024 and 8.6% in Cardiff over that period.

Is Encinitas a seller's market right now? By PSAR's guideline that under 3 months of supply usually favors sellers, both ZIP codes qualify as of November 4, 2026. 92024 had 2.4 months and Cardiff had 1.3.

In a market where a few closings can move the median by six figures, the useful comparison is a home against recent sales on its own blocks, measured per square foot and net of credits. That is the analysis Appleby Family Group prepares for clients deciding between Cardiff and the rest of Encinitas. To go over the numbers for a specific property, Request a Private Consultation.