Lunar landscape in California is a real $1.7 million home

In Joshua Tree, California is an extraordinary house that looks like it was built by aliens. 

Eerie earthen mounds rise out of the Mojave Desert like a cluster of giant-sized termite nests. 

The house was built almost entirely from earth excavated from the surrounding desert in a traditional construction technique called adobe. 

It first came onto the market in May 2023 for $US2.05 million ($AU3.2 million). After over eighteen months without a sale, the price has been slashed to $US1.1 million ($AU1.7 million) – the same price as an ordinary Sydney house. 

“I think the biggest motivation for the sellers to price it aggressively is because they are going to buy another very unique home with the proceeds of this sale,” listing agent Cody Hancock tells Mansion Global. 

The house is called the Bonita Domes, and was painstakingly built over seven years by drum maker and alternative health practitioner Lisa Starr. 

Starr sold the dome house to the current owner, Jeffrey Weiss, in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Weiss added a touch of luxury to the property with a sparkling saltwater pool, a fire pit, and an ornately-carved wooden temple purchased in India. 

“The iconic Bonita Domes in Joshua Tree, California are a true desert masterpiece – an unparalleled fusion of art, architecture, and nature,” says the listing by Desert Sotheby’s International Realty. 

“At night, immerse yourself in world-class stargazing, with some of the darkest, clearest skies in Southern California.” 

Several separate dwellings are scattered across the two-acre block: a primary living dome, separate sleeping pods, and beehive-shaped bathrooms. 

The earthen walls are painted a creamy white, allowing the texture of the hand-smoothed walls to show through. 

Undulating rings of stacked sandbags can be seen in some of the bedrooms. During construction, Starr filled these sandbags “a coffee can at a time”. 

The Bonita Domes are currently available to rent on Airbnb for around $791 per night.