Budget Breakdown: For $404K, a First-Time Renovator Revives a Joshua Tree Midcentury

When the pandemic brought his design agency work to a halt, Brian Ware decided to try his hand at home flipping in Yucca Valley’s booming housing market.

Joshua Tree has long been a bargain market for anyone priced out of buying a home in the greater Los Angeles area. When the pandemic hit, it supercharged a buying spree in and around the town by outsiders: Some were first-time homeowners wanting a full-time residence, while others wanted vacation homes they could list as short-term rentals. With the sudden surge in popularity, another set started scooping up homes there to renovate and resell outright.

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