In this next installment of my Walkable Neighborhood Series we explore the residential area adjacent to the famed La Costa Resort in South Carlsbad. While this area is not within walking distance to the beach (it's about 2 miles, a reasonable bike ride), the area offers a number of amenities to enjoy within walking distance of a number of real estate options.

Here are the previous Walkable Neighborhood Series articles: 

Walkable Neighborhood Series: Carlsbad Village Real Estate in Carlsbad, California

Walkable Neighborhood Series: Downtown Encinitas

Walkable Neighborhood Series: Cardiff Real Estate in The Walking District in Cardiff-by-the-Sea

First, the resort itself. Certainly La Costa Resort and Spa may not be the place to hang out daily, at least for many folks. There is a fabulous spa, the Chopra Center, and a handful of boutiques, plus two restaurants (both with indoor and outdoor dining - BlueFire Grill is my favorite but it's expensive). And of course if you are a golfer this is the place to be. You can read more about the resort here.

At the intersection of El Camino Real and Alga Road/Aviara Parkway (just north of the La Costa Resort) you will find two good sized shopping centers offering several casual dining options (Tuscany is a favorite of locals) and a host of retail offerings - home furnishings, clothing, business services, shoe repair (Tiny's) - the VONS grocery store (a major grocer in Southern California), several hair salons and banks, a UPS store, pet foods center, coffee shop, and a movie theatre, among other things.

South of the resort (adjacent to the property) is the Alberstons Shopping center with the grocery store, several fast food places (El Pollo, Bruegger's Bagels), Tommy V's Restaurant and several other retail stores.

The Carlsbad Library is here as well - one of the best in the area - plus the Cannon Art Gallery, a city-owned gallery with shows throughout the year. The US Post Office is next to the VONS Shopping center.

Carlsbad real estate in this part of La Costa is fairly diverse. Currently there are only 6 La Costa homes for sale that are really walkable on east side of El Camino Real, although while they are close as the crow flies, by street they are a little longer walk (Somewhat Walkable). These homes are all in the old La Costa neighborhood built right after the resort was created; they are custom single story homes, ranging in price from $1,150,000 to $2,495,000 (some are direct golf course frontage homes).

On the west side (towards Aviara) there are 3 detached homes that are Somewhat Walkable, ranging in price from $629,000 to $1,150,000. Because there are more limited amenities in this area in general, the walkability scores are lower even though some services are only .2 miles away. I have a new listing coming on in this area around January 2, 2009.

On the west side of El Camino there is only 1 attached Carlsbad home for sale that is Somewhat Walkable, priced at $376,500. On the east side there are 6 attached homes for sale that are Somewhat Walkable, priced from $269,000 to $390,000. These are all older homes.

And of course there are the new La Costa Villas on the grounds of the resort itself. These are whole ownership villas that operate somewhat like fractional ownership prperties - owners can use them 120 days out of the year and the balance of the time they can be rented, offering a terrific income-producing investment.

If I can provide more detailed information about the homes in this area and the community, please free to let me know.

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If I can provide more information about Encinitas, Carlsbad and surrounding areas, or the housing market in general, or otherwise assist you in your homes search, please contact me by phone or text at (760) 840-1360 or email me at JDowler@remax.net.

All content copyright © 2008 Jeff Dowler Carlsbad Homes and Real Estate Tidbits