Take a peek inside the Joshua Tree Invisible House, up for sale for $18 million

One of Airbnb’s most requested accommodations in 2023 is on the market.

The Joshua Tree, California home has an asking price of $18 million, making it the most expensive home ever listed in the city about two hours southeast of Los Angeles in San Bernardino County.

The record-breaking entry is dubbed the “Invisible House,” named for its mirror-clad facade that reflects the desert environment and can effectively disappear into the rocky landscape.

The contemporary glass architecture sits on 67.5 acres just steps from Joshua Tree National Park. The living space is nearly 5,500 square feet with three bedrooms, four bathrooms, and a 100-foot indoor pool, according to the listing.

“This is one of the coolest homes in the world,” said co-listing agent Aaron Kirman, CEO of AKG Christie’s International Real Estate.

Kirman told CNBC the $18 million listing is all about stunning modern architecture and the illusion created by the 10,500-square-foot wraparound mirrored glass exterior of the home.

The home was designed by film producer and current owner Chris Hanley and Frank Gehry collaborator and architect Tomas Osinski. The glass and steel structure is 225 feet long, 25 feet wide and 21 feet high.

Inside, there are smooth concrete floors and steel beams criss-crossing 12-foot ceilings. The mirrored glass walls on the outside of the house are transparent from the inside and offer a panoramic view of a rocky landscape. The house’s west-facing glass wall slides open to reveal a symphony of boulders, shrubbery and stoic trees.

The minimalist design surrounding the 100ft indoor pool makes swimming through the living room to one of the bedrooms even more generous.

According to Kirman, it’s impossible to find real estate prices for such unique architecture in a remote desert town of just a thousand people.

“To be clear, there are no competitions. We’re not pricing this house on Joshua Tree,” he said.

According to co-listing agent Matt Adamo, the highest price ever paid for a home in Joshua Tree was $3.5 million. A sale even close to the asking price of the Invisible House would break the local record.

The closest comparisons, Kirman said, are homes by Richard Neutra, John Lautner and Rudolph Schindler – “some of the great architects of the past.”

The $18 million price tag for the Invisible House works out to nearly $3,300 per square foot, putting the Joshua Tree residence per square foot above some of the most expensive offerings in Los Angeles, home to the top 10% of all single-family homes The average space sold in the first quarter was just under $2,400 per square foot Elliman report.

And before a possible sale, the modern desert house that has own Instagram account and has around 35,000 followers is already a moneymaker.

The house is frequently rented out to guests via Airbnb and for production shoots.

“In 2021, this house generated over $1.4 million in total revenue,” Adamo told CNBC, adding that about 15% of that came from production.

The Airbnb listing of your home Rent starts at $2,500 per night and includes a small guest house on the property. Adamo said the production rate is even higher: Previous rentals fetched $1,000 an hour, or up to $12,000 for a full day.

Between those two rental opportunities, the realtors told CNBC that the home has hosted a slew of notable guests, including musicians and actors like Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, Lizzo, Diplo, and The Weeknd, as well as a long list of social media influencers.

“If you do the math, you’re buying significant architecture, uniqueness, terrain, and the opportunity to monetize all of that,” Kirman said.

In the four months since the home went on the market, it hasn’t found a buyer, but both agents are confident the record-breaking asking price will result in the biggest sale Joshua Tree has ever seen.

“I think $18 million is 100% the right price,” Kirman said.

“Don’t think of this as a house. It is a work of art and look at what art is being sold for.”