Port Hueneme

The port was built in the late 1930s and taken over by the Navy in the Second World War as the home of the Seabees, and the city incorporated around it in 1948. The commercial port handles cars and produce, and the Navy base and its housing remain the largest presence in the city. Hueneme Beach Park, the pier and the lighthouse are the city’s public face on the ocean.

The city is compact and flat, with Ventura Road and Channel Islands Boulevard as the main streets, the port and base on the south and west, and Oxnard wrapping around the rest.

Most of the housing is single-story post-war construction on small lots in the streets between Ventura Road and the base, with prices that sit below almost any other coastal city in the region. Near the beach, condo and townhome complexes along Surfside Drive and around Hueneme Beach Park offer walking access to the sand at prices well under the Oxnard harbor neighborhoods.

Military transfers, port employment and the value relative to the coast make for steady turnover, and a large share of units are rentals. Buyers should check HOA financials on the older beach-area complexes.

The Hueneme Elementary School District serves elementary and middle grades, and high school students attend the Oxnard Union High School District, with Hueneme High School just across the city line in Oxnard. Boundaries follow streets, so check a specific address with both districts.

The city is about ten minutes from the 101 through Oxnard on Ventura Road or Rice Avenue, and Highway 1 leads south past Point Mugu to Malibu. The Oxnard Transit Center provides Metrolink and Amtrak service. The Channel Islands Harbor, Hueneme Beach and the Ormond Beach wetlands are within a short bike ride.