Quote from @Michael Hyun:
I like Kitchen in the Desert but I've never been to La Copine or Grnd Sqrl. I gotta try it next time I'm down there.
I agree- there definitely is more than just Joshua Tree in the High Desert - but I guess I was talking about JUST the actual town of JT - not the overall High Desert. Most people from SoCal know Joshua Tree and have never heard of Yucca Valley or Twentynine Palms or Landers until they've visited at least once. Technically the whole area isn't considered "Joshua Tree" - but when I talk to anyone about JT, they have heard about it or know from Instagram what Joshua Tree is. Typically I find that people from SoCal mostly generalize the entire area around JT as "Joshua Tree" even though the High Desert is comprised of many other cities with their own regulations on STRs, including Yucca Valley, Pioneertown, etc. But to be more specific, I was talking about Joshua Tree itself - the main part of JT being the intersection of Park Blvd and the main hwy running through it. But Jason is right - when I lived in Joshua Tree for a month or so - I hung out in Yucca Valley 90% of the time and only 10% of the time in JT (for food and thrift stores - and the swap meet). I never really hung out in Morongo - it was like 30 minutes away. I went to Twentynine palms, but only once - about a 15 minute drive. There were lots of abandoned buildings and very run-down homes there - still it's a much bigger city than JT itself.
Right now is peak season, so I'd assume its busy, but May calendars are already looking empty from what I'm observing. And June and July are not too busy from what I remember.
Interestingly, properties in Yucca Valley are not selling for nearly as much as JT - even for a similar size and style home. JT is only 10 minutes away from JT, and when I stayed in Joshua Tree for a month, I went to Yucca Valley every day for dinner (because it was the closest city with more than a few restaurants). And yet, this is the city that is CHEAPER than JT. So I was wondering why this could be the case - how could JT be more expensive? My honest opinion is because Joshua Tree has the name. People recognize "Joshua Tree" and when there are STR blog posts about "Joshua Tree" being the best market to invest in - you have a bunch of rookie investors ONLY looking at the Joshua Tree town (not the entire area including Yucca valley and surrounding areas). And on top of that, it's closest to the national park entrance. I wonder what you think about this based on your experience @Jason Kudo
A turnkey 2b1ba airbnb in JT is selling anywhere from 400k - 500k these days. The same home in Yucca Valley could sell for 300k - 400k. Of course there are always outliers depending on the quality of the home.
Yucca has an STR moratorium, so that sucks.
29 is legit though, I havea literally been to openings there that resemble LA, and a buddy of mine who is a DJ from LA DJ's at the bakery out there (he owns an STR).
29 is up and coming. (I own an STR there and it just did "OK" the first year but now is doing well - of course just in time for me and the ex to break up and she is buying my half of it out lol but thats another story)
Always remember also: 29 has a JT park entrance that is way less crowded than the actual JT entrance, and alot of "hardcore" outdoors people (im not one) have their reasons for thinking the 29 entrance is better.
My only thing about the desert is how much its got in terms of lasting power as a destination, because honestly the desert to me is kind of a ****** place compared to piney mountains and salty beaches, etc. 29 also gets hotter than the rest of the high desert i think which sucks.
But the advantage of the desert is that it is not only a vacation market, its a whole thing where alot of people are moving out there for keeps, and that helps drive the market in ways that you might not see in normal vacay markets. Also alot of people in JT youll see don't even speak english, so like, this says that JT is now worldwide as a destination, which is pretty cool.
Morongo Valley sucks, i feel like the winds there are never under 50mph, i feel like it will never be cool for this reason alone.
I like 29 long term. I would not mess with the other desert markets as they are all too high imho.
29 does have some new STR limitations though but they are relatively chill i think, i haven't looked at it myself yet but i will before i buy
