BG, I think you’re right that probably a fairly large percentage of the homes that are paid off are in “older” areas.

Of course, those who purchased homes here many years ago most likely have homes that are paid off, but, in general, it would still be possible, even for those who bought as recently as the late 80’s and 90’s, when property was much more “affordable.”

For example, you could purchase a SFH in CV for under $200K during in that time period. Homes that are now $1M++ in LJ, Sunset Cliffs and Point Loma, Del Mar, etc. were not much more.

Just using my family and friends as reference points–along with the great areas in east and south county–there still seems to be quite a lot of interest in “older” areas such as Del Mar, LJ, Point Loma, Sunset Cliffs, RSF, etc., by the current crop of buyers.

Many of the folks in those areas also own their homes free and clear, so it would seem the distribution is pretty much countywide.