Ha Huynh April 7, 2024 The Wall Street Journal: Joshua Tree Was California’s Hottest Housing Market. What Happened? Ha Huynh April 7, 2024 East of Los Angeles in California’s secluded desert, the Joshua Tree area was the state’s hottest real-estate market during the pandemic. Now higher interest rates, a bloated short-term rental market and the return to pre-Covid normalcy have brought the market back down to earth.