Ventura County Housing Market Report — Q3 2026
Ventura County's housing market in Q3 2026: the median home price, sales, inventory, days on market and 7% mortgage rates, month by month and with sources.
This is the second issue of my quarterly read on the Ventura County housing market. Closed sales and median prices come from the California Association of Realtors; listing counts and days on market come from Realtor.com. Both run through September.
| Month | Median sold price | vs. year earlier | Active listings | Days on market | Median list price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2026 | $950,000 | +0.1% | 1,570 | 50 | $962,000 |
| August 2026 | $925,000 | −1.3% | 1,602 | 52 | $949,000 |
| September 2026 | $930,000 | +3.3% | 1,601 | 56 | $942,076 |
Median sold price: existing single-family homes (C.A.R.). Active listings, days on market and list price: Realtor.com via FRED.
Ventura County median home price, Q3 2026
The median price held. According to C.A.R., the median sold price of an existing single-family home in Ventura County was $950,000 in July, $925,000 in August and $930,000 in September, against $949,500, $937,500 and $900,000 a year earlier. July and August were within about one percent of last year; September was up 3.3%. The spring was the high point: the median reached $1,000,000 in May before easing to $937,500 in June.
The pace is what changed. Closed sales in August were down 11.9% from August 2025, and down 18.1% from July. September turned the other way: sales rose 9.3% from August and 6.4% from September 2025. So the quarter's closed sales were uneven rather than a steady slide. The listing data below shows where the pace did change.
Inventory and days on market
Realtor.com's count of active listings in the county, published through FRED, rose from 1,465 in June to 1,570 in July and about 1,600 in August and September. That's above September 2025 as well, when the count was 1,478.
Homes are also taking longer. Median days on market went from 48 in June to 50 in July, 52 in August and 56 in September. A year earlier the same months ran 50, 55 and 57, so this summer looks more like a return to last year's pace after a fast spring than a sharp break. Median list price eased from about $985,000 in June to about $942,000 in September.
Put together: more choice for buyers, more time for each listing, and prices that have so far held close to where they were.
Mortgage rates crossed 7%
Freddie Mac's 30-year fixed average was 6.43% on July 2. It was 6.76% on September 10, 6.95% on September 17, the day after the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate a quarter point to 3.75%–4.00%, and 7.03% on September 24. The October 1 reading was 7.28%. I wrote more about what that means for a payment in this month's mortgage piece. I'm not a lender, so for your own loan, talk with a licensed loan officer.
Insurance and the FAIR Plan
The California FAIR Plan's average 29.1% rate increase took effect October 15 for new policies and renewals. It matters here: the plan reported 16,348 residential policies in Ventura County as of June 30. If you're buying anywhere with wildfire exposure, get coverage quotes from a licensed insurance broker early in escrow. My FAIR Plan piece covers what I do about it in a transaction.
Q3 by area
Month-to-month sale prices for a single city swing too much with the mix of homes that sell, so for a city-by-city view I use Zillow's Home Value Index. It estimates the typical value of a mid-priced single-family home, so it's an estimate, not a sale price. By that measure, values across the county barely moved this quarter: every city below changed less than 2% between June and September.
| City | September 2026 | vs. June 2026 | vs. September 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westlake Village | $1,728,000 | +1.2% | +4.3% |
| Ojai | $1,168,000 | +1.6% | +2.1% |
| Thousand Oaks | $1,069,000 | +0.3% | +2.0% |
| Moorpark | $959,000 | +0.6% | +2.5% |
| Camarillo | $944,000 | +0.5% | +1.6% |
| Ventura | $919,000 | +0.4% | +1.3% |
| Simi Valley | $848,000 | +0.4% | +0.2% |
| Oxnard | $773,000 | +0.7% | +1.3% |
| Santa Paula | $724,000 | +0.6% | +1.4% |
| Port Hueneme | $700,000 | +1.0% | +3.0% |
| Fillmore | $696,000 | +0.6% | +1.2% |
Typical single-family home value, Zillow Home Value Index (middle tier, smoothed and seasonally adjusted). An estimate, not a sale price.
Against a year earlier, every city in the table was up, by between 0.2% and 4.3%. Westlake Village (+4.3%), Port Hueneme (+3.0%) and Moorpark (+2.5%) showed the largest gains, and Simi Valley (+0.2%) was the flattest. Ojai had the largest move over the quarter itself, at 1.6%.
An index like this moves slowly by design, and a city-wide figure can hide big differences from one street to the next. If you want to know what your own home is worth, ask me for a valuation.
What I'm watching into Q4
If you're weighing a specific city, my guides to living in Ventura, Camarillo, Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village and Ojai cover each market's character in more depth.
Three things, without guessing where they land. First, whether September's pickup in closed sales carries into October and November. Second, whether the listings that came on this summer sell, reduce, or come off the market as the holidays approach; I wrote about that calendar in the fall-selling piece. Third, how buyers respond to rates above 7% when the spring market starts in January.
If you're planning a 1031 exchange around year-end, your tax return due date can affect the exchange period, so confirm your dates with your CPA and qualified intermediary. I'm a real estate agent, not a tax advisor.
Sources
Median prices and sales changes: California Association of Realtors monthly home sales reports, July, August and September 2026 (and May and June for the Q2 comparison). Active listings, days on market and median list price: Realtor.com data via the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), Ventura County series. Mortgage rates: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Fed decision: Federal Reserve, September 16, 2026. FAIR Plan figures: KQED and the Simi Valley Acorn, August 2026. City home values: Zillow Home Value Index, single-family, middle tier, September 2026 release.