Solana Beach is a coastal community about 17 miles north of San Diego, just south of Cardiff-by-the-Sea and bordered on the south by Del Mar and to the east by Rancho Santa Fe.

Covering an area of about 3.5 square miles, somewhere around 13,000 people make their home here (the census for 2000 showed just about 13,000 residents but some reports indicate a small decline in population). Solana Beach was called Lockwood Mesa prior to 1923 and was incorporated as a city in 1986. There is a fascinating history of Solana Beach on the town website (zip code 92075)

A claim to fame, depending on your perspective, is the 2003 enactment of a smoking ban on its beaches, a trend that has been followed by many other California beach towns since. But the town is known as a desirable residential and business center (plenty of small businesses and high-tech companies here), with beautiful beaches, a health economy, pricey housing, and easy access to LA and San Diego via the freeway, the Coaster, and an Amtrak train (with a stop in town).

Most of Solana Beach is centered along the Coast Highway (Route 101) from the Cardiff border to Del Mar, with a very popular and well-know design area known as the Cedros Design District just one block to the east. Covering several blocks south of Lomas Santa Fe, the Cedros Design District is a shopping mecca, especially for folks who are remodeling or building a home and want assistance with interior and exterior design, furniture, gardening and landscaping and much more.

You can also enjoy a variety of restaurants, get styles, buy clothing, attend a live music concert at the popular Belly Up Tavern, poke through numerous art galleries, or simply stroll the area window shopping.

The 101 main street also offers a broad range of shopping and services, from the most plain and simple to luxurious. You will find the typical shops and services catering to a beach crowd (and vacationers) as well as more upscale clothing boutiques, home furnishings stores, restaurants, small businesses and Frog's Fitness Center. Several hotels are found along this roadway (e.g., the Holiday Inn Express and Courtyard by Marriott). The town can get quite busy during the summer, during the county fair, and during thoroughbred racing season (July 8 through September 5) at the Del Mar Race Track just south of town.

Dining in the area can be quite good, and perhaps can be best described as eclectic, from the simple fast food to fine dining. A few examples: Parioli Italian Restaurant on the 101 has a good reputation; Blanca is perhaps the most upscale and pricey, on the 101 about 1/2 mile north of Via de la Valle; and the Wild Note at the Belly Up Tavern on Cedros is a terrific place for lunch, dinner or weekend brunch before or after shopping in the Cedros Design District.

Much of the Solana Beach coast line is bluff, occupied in many areas by private homes (Pacific Avenue, Circle Drive) and expensive condo developments, especially along S. Sierra Avenue. There are a number of access points for the public, such as Tide Park and the popular Fletcher Cove (offering a tot lot, restrooms, a grassy area, and basketball, plus the fabulous beach!).

Mother Nature, as always, has her way, and there are some areas along this coast where residents are at risk for bluff failures, active shifting of the bluffs, and the need for seawalls. Recently new hefty fees have been implemented against residents who install seawalls to compensate the public for loss of beach, but many do not have much choice given the erosion issues.

Children in town attend one of 6 elementary schools in the Solana Beach School District. Older children will attend public schools in the San Dieguito Union High School District. There a several private schools as well.

There are 2 golf courses in town - the Lomas Santa Fe Country Club (private) and the Lomas Santa Fe Executive Golf Course, which is public. There are a good number of golf courses nearby in Del Mar (e.g., Torrey Pines) and Rancho Santa Fe, most of which are private.

Housing in Solana Beach is fairly diverse, ranging from vacation and rental apartments, to a mix of attached and detached condos, single family homes, and luxury waterfront properties. Because of the hilly topography a good number of properties offer distant views of the ocean despite being some distance away (including on the east side of the 5 freeway), as well as the San Elijo Lagoon.

There are brand new homes as well as a large mix of bungalow and cottage style properties, as well as a mix of contemporary, traditional, spanish and other housing styles that defy classification; a drive through town will show a good number of substantial remodels taking place to take advantage of the views. Be aware that residents, and the town, are especially concerned about preserving views; you will likely be required to show the silhouettes and elevations of any planned remodels and additions using Story Poles in the event views are potentially obstructed.

The Solana Beach real estate market traditionally does not have a large inventory of homes. Combined with the location, the beach life, and area amenities, this results in SolanaBeach being one of the more expensive communities on the coast in San Diego County behind Del Mar and La Jolla, and neighboring Rancho Santa Fe, the priciest by far. As of this writing (July 2007) there were 54 detached homes for sale in Solana Beach, ranging in price from $799,000 to $4.75 million (only 8 homes, or 15%, are priced under $1 million). The median price of detached homes sold in the last 6 months is $1.378 million.

Attached homes in Solana Beach are more affordable, in general. There were 65 attached homes for sale as of early July 2007, ranging in price from $324,000 (for a small 1 bedroom 1 bath condo) to $1.65 million ( for a 2 bedroom, 3 bath, 2-story condo with sweeping ocean views) (average price $746,902). The median home price for attached homes that have sold in the last 6 months is $650,000.

Solana Beach offers a wonderful seaside lifestyle and ambiance, with great shopping, good schools, varied dining, and beautiful beaches just 30 minutes or less to downtown San Diego.

There is easy access to shopping and other amenities in neighboring Del Mar and La Jolla, and the local train station gives you the option of visiting Los Angeles in a little over 2 hours instead of driving the freeway. This high quality of life comes at a hefty price, but more reasonably so than in its 3 closest neighbors.

By the way Solana Beach is home to America's most opinionated mortgage broker, Brian Brady!If you need mortgage assistance or have any questions, THIS is the guy to talk to.

Interested in making the Solana Beach lifestyle yours?

Give me a call at (760) 840-1360 or email me at jdowler@remax.net.