Ventura County Real Estate

There are so many reasons to live in Ventura County, it's tough to pick our favorites!  Surfing in Ventura, hiking in the snow on Mt. Pinos, riding horses in Simi Valley and sailing in Westlake Village.  You can do it all in one weekend without ever leaving the county.  And if you get the urge to go for a drive, we're bordered by Santa Barbara County to the north and Los Angeles County to the south.  So if you go south for less than an hour, you'll be in Hollywood.  If you go north the same amount of time you'll be in the world-reknown Santa Barbara Wine Country.  We love living here and we can't wait to share all the wonderful qualities of Ventura County living with you!

Searching for Ventura County Real Estate

Feel free to use our Ventura County MLS search for free with no registration required.  The best way to learn about a new home is to research the area as much as possible, and you've obviously started that process online.  If you have any questions about what you see in the MLS, or want to schedule a tour please call us at 805-275-2375.  If you'd prefer to search by city please visit our city info pages for:

Living in Ventura County

With approximately 742,000 residents, Ventura County is the 12th most populous county in the State of California.  Ventura County is a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts, as we have 43 miles of coastline, 411 acres of State beach parks and 860 square miles of Los Padres National Forest.  We also have one of the most dramatic increases in elevation too, from sea level in Ventura to 8,831 feet at Mount Pinos.

The mild climate in Ventura county allows for maximum enjoyment of the outdoors too.  In fact you can nearly consider your patio area livable square footage in your home because you'll find you're able to enjoy it most of the year.  In Ventura County you can pick your climate too:  If you like 90 degree summers you may prefer Simi Valley or Ojai, for highs in the 80's perhaps Camarillo, and if you like it cool year-round you'll love the 70 degree summers in Ventura.  In fact Ventura County is home to six different microclimates, which is more than any other county in the nation!

The Channel Islands National Park is only a short, one-hour boatride away from Ventura Harbor.  Catch a ride with Island Packers for a day hike to the lighthouse on Anacapa Island, or camp for the weekend on Santa Cruz island.  The islands are so natural and unpopulated that you'll feel like you're on another continent and yet you're still right here in Ventura County.

Our schools are exemplary, and our Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores have consistently exceeded state and national averages for the last 10 years.  We have three community colleges in Ventura, Oxnard and Moorpark and the new Cal State Channel Islands campus in Camarillo. 

Ventura County is home to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum located in Simi Valley, the San Buenaventura Mission, the Union Oil Museum in Santa Paula, art galleries featuring the work of world famous artists in Ojai and a state-of-the-art Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks offering symphony, ballet and a variety of quality theatrical performances.

History of Ventura County

The original inhabitants of Ventura County and the Channel Islands were the Chumash Indians.  In the 16th Century Spanish settlers arrived and called the region the land of everlasting summers.  In 1782, the Mission San Buenaventura (meaning Good Fortune) was founded by Father Junipero Serra.  In 1873, the county as we know it was broken off from Santa Barbara county and officially established as Ventura County.  Rumor has it that the county became known as "Ventura" when Southern Pacific Railroad shortened San Buenaventura when printing their timetables in 1887.