On this website, the North County real estate area refers to that part of San Diego real estate that includes Encinitas homes for sale, Carlsbad homes for sale, Oceanside homes for sale, Vista CA homes for sale, San Marcos CA homes for sale, and Escondido homes for sale.
Wikipedia defines the San Diego North County real estate area as follows: "San Diego North County, also North County, refers to a region in the northern portion of San Diego County, California. Definitions vary, but always include the cities along Interstate 5 and Route 78 and north of Carmel Valley Road. The real estate related areas are (west to east: Oceanside real estate and Carlsbad real estate, Vista CA Real Estate, San Marcos Real Estate, and Escondido Real Estate) as well as points north (such as Fallbrook). Areas north of an imaginary line west from Escondido (such as the Encinitas real estate area) are also included. But for both geographic and political reasons, opinions differ as to whether to include the northern communities within the city of San Diego (Rancho Bernardo, Scripps Ranch), or close in cities such as Solana Beach, the Cardiff-by-the-Sea real estate area, Aviara, Del Mar, Carmel Valley, Rancho Santa Fe, etc.
San Diego North County is considered more conservative socially than the southern portion of the San Diego county. The "North County" name dates to at least the 1970s, when many of the communities in the area were yet to become incorporated cities and local community decisions were made 40 miles away at the county seat. The North County section of San Diego county has historically been the most expensive region of San Diego, with such affluent neighborhoods as: Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Carlsbad, La Costa homes, Carmel Valley, Del Mar, Encinitas homes, Olivenhain, Rancho Santa Fe, and Solana Beach."