The high desert is a different market

Norman went to school in Joshua Tree. The high desert is where he starts when someone says they want land, light, and a house that is not on a golf course.

Lots are larger. Water is stricter. Houses are turned toward the light rather than toward a fairway. A price that looks modest next to Palm Desert is not a discount on the same kind of house.

The towns are not interchangeable. Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, Pioneertown, Morongo Valley, and Twentynine Palms each have a different street, a different well, and a different reason someone stays.