California · Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA metro area

Buying a home in Simi Valley, California

In Simi Valley, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $823,800, Ventura County's effective property tax rate is 0.68%, a purchase mortgage carried a median $9,419 in total loan costs in 2025, and median gross rent is $2,579 a month.

Data as of : Census ACS 2020-2024, Census Vintage 2024, HMDA 2025, HUD FY 2027. Sources

Simi Valley home costs, fact by fact

About Simi Valley

The median gross rent is $2,579 per month, and 72.9% of homes are owner-occupied.

Reading the Simi Valley figures

Simi Valley is a place where owning is the norm. With 72.9% of households owning, it tops every other city named here. Santa Clarita comes close, at 71.8%. Concord, Hayward and Ventura sit between 55.9% and 61.6%, while Long Beach, Inglewood and Los Angeles lean to renting at 36% to 41.2%. With so many owners, the rental stock is probably thinner than in most large California cities.

Values sit modestly above the state. Owners put the typical home at $823,800, a little above California's $770,700. Los Angeles, San Diego and Fullerton are above it, between $902,600 and $921,200, and so are Hayward, Anaheim and Ventura, which land between $827,300 and $854,400. Garden Grove, Long Beach, Concord, Downey, Inglewood and Santa Clarita all sit below it, within a $784,700 to $814,100 range. None of these come from recorded sales.

Rent is where the city stands apart from its neighbors. At $2,579 a month, rent tops San Diego, Hayward, Concord and Long Beach, with medians from $1,871 to $2,391, and edges past Santa Clarita at $2,544. Local HUD tables show $2,424 for a standard rental, $3,287 for a larger home. The city's median rent therefore sits above the base figure, an unusual reversal worth checking against a specific listing, since HUD's number is a wider-area guide and not a market median.

Ventura County provides the carrying costs. With a 0.68% effective rate and county homes valued at $822,700, the annual payment is $5,574, almost level with the city's own median value. The 2025 record holds 4,252 loans, with a median financing charge of $9,419 and the centre of the distribution between $6,823 and $16,345.

Simi Valley has 125,778 residents, and the 835,427 people of its metro area place it 75th nationally. Compare it with Anaheim, at 344,561, or Garden Grove, at 172,361: this is among the smaller cities in the comparison, but it has the highest share of owners. Inglewood, with 102,774 residents, is smaller still, with a rent of $1,787 and owners making up 36.2% of households.

The rent against tenure comparison is worth a second look. Anaheim has 46.2% owners and a rent of $2,175, Fullerton 51.8% and $2,194, and Ventura 55.9% and $2,198. Simi Valley combines a far higher owner share with a higher rent than any of them, which fits a market where renting is the less common choice and rentals are scarce.

On carrying costs, a buyer at the $823,800 median faces the county's 0.68% rate, and since that value is close to the county figure of $822,700, the $5,574 payment is a fair first estimate of the annual bill. That makes this a place where the county figure travels well to the city, unlike places where city and county values diverge widely.

Calculate for California

If you buy

California state transfer tax

California has no state transfer tax; counties and cities may charge one.

Price$770,700
State transfer taxnot computed
Who paysSet by the purchase contract

Default price: the California median value of owner-occupied homes, $770,700 (Census ACS 2025). Not computed: No state tax. The tax is set by county and city, so it cannot be computed from the state alone. Who pays: Neither the state statute nor the City of Los Angeles FAQ assigns the tax; the purchase contract and escrow instructions decide. Not included: county and city transfer taxes, recording fees, title insurance and lender charges. California transfer tax guide · all 50 states.

If you sell

Capital gain and the federal tax on it

Same federal rule in every state: Section 121 of the Internal Revenue Code excludes up to $250,000 of gain on a main home ($500,000 for a married couple filing jointly).

Capital gain$350,000
Section 121 exclusion$250,000 (limit $250,000)
Taxable gain$100,000
Type of gainLong-term (owned over 1 year), 15% chosen
Federal tax on the gain$15,000

Section 121 excludes $250,000; the rest is taxable.

Gain = sale price minus your adjusted basis (purchase price, buying costs and improvements); selling expenses reduce it (IRS Publication 523). Long-term rates for sales in 2026, by taxable income including the gain (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.03): 0% up to $49,450 single or $98,900 married filing jointly, 15% up to $545,500 single or $613,700 jointly, 20% above. Not included: California state income tax on the gain (not computed), the net investment income tax, depreciation recapture on a rental or home office, and the reduced exclusion for an early sale. Agent commissions are negotiated and never set by law. Capital gains on a home sale.

Questions about buying a home in Simi Valley

How much is property tax in Simi Valley?

Homeowners in Ventura County pay a median $5,574 a year in property tax, 0.68% of the county median home value of $822,700 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Your bill depends on your assessed value and local rates.

What are closing costs on a mortgage in Simi Valley?

Home-purchase mortgages in Ventura County carried median total loan costs of $9,419 in 2025; half of the 4,252 loans fell between $6,823 and $16,345 (HMDA). Total loan costs are the lender and settlement-service charges of the Closing Disclosure; transfer taxes and prepaid items come on top.

Is there a transfer tax when you buy a home in Simi Valley?

California has no state transfer tax. Counties may charge $0.55 per $500 of value under the Documentary Transfer Tax Act, and cities such as Los Angeles add their own, with Measure ULA adding 4% or 5.5% on very high-priced sales.

Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Simi Valley?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Simi Valley ($823,800) equals 26.6 years of the median gross rent ($2,579 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

What natural hazards affect home insurance in Simi Valley?

Across California, the main hazards for home insurance are earthquake, wildfire, flood and landslide, and the insurer of last resort is California FAIR Plan. A standard California homeowners policy does not cover earthquake damage; insurers must offer earthquake coverage (Insurance Code 10081), and the FAIR Plan sells limited fire coverage up to $3 million for residential policyholders.

Run your own numbers: rent vs buy calculator · closing costs calculator.

California rules that apply in Simi Valley

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Sources

California · All states · Federal guides