Anyone who is looking for a home in the Palm Springs or the greater Coachella Valley is likely familiar with the volume of historic homes in the area. To say the least, they are abundant. And their look, feel and architectural significance have a hand in shaping the character of communities, from the Twin Palms Estate in Movie Colony to the Desert House in Old Las Palmas.
Honestly, the list could go on.
Certainly, master architects and visionary designers have played an outsized role in bringing these unique homes to life. And preservationists, with an emotional tug to restore select residences to their prime, have influenced the extent to which these homes are revered, embraced and celebrated by the masses. But without question, a single piece of legislation in California has played an integral role in facilitating historic designations, and ultimately preserving the relics and gems of this area’s architectural past.
The Mills Act, a state law enacted by California in 1972, has had an incredible influence on the historic home market in the Palm Springs area. The statute allows cities and counties to enter into unique contracts with the owners of qualified historic properties, where the owners would agree to restore and maintain the property in exchange for a lower property tax bill. So if you’re wondering, the answer is yes, there are financial incentives to purchasing a California home that has received historic designation.
What kind of incentive? Under the Mills Act, some homeowners can see a savings of up to 70% from the pre-contract tax bill. As with anything, there is a sliding scale of savings depending on a number of variables.
Regardless of savings, the contracts last. In fact, they are good for 10 years and they automatically renew, unless the owner or the municipality gives notice of non-renewal. The contracts even transfer when ownership changes. For those who like to crunch numbers, and understand the rate of property appreciation in the Palm Springs area — it’s pretty bullish, for those who don’t know — that kind of property tax break can translate to hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings, if not more.
At PS Properties, we’ve seen it time and again, as we have worked with numerous clients who have been able to benefit from this type of arrangement upon the purchase of a home with historic designation. The idea behind the arrangement, of course, is that the homeowner could use that tax savings to cover the costs of restoration and maintenance for these historically and architecturally significant properties.
Nowhere is the Mills Act more impactful than in Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, communities that each adopted their own specifications for historic designation.
The Mills Act In Palm Springs
Desert Modernism, a midcentury calling card, continues to flourish across Palm Springs in part due to the influence of the Mills Act. The Palm Springs City Council designates historical eligibility for a property based on a tiered system, and just two of those tiers allow for the Mills Act tax incentives to be utilized.
A Class 1 designation is the highest tier. It means the property is considered a landmark due to its historic, architectural, archaeological, cultural or aesthetic significance and its place in a community’s history. A Class 2 designation signals historic merit, and likely fails to receive a Class 1 designation due to the structural or aesthetic integrity of the property at the time. The Mills Act incentives can be utilized for this tier, but only if the structure still physically exists.
As of mid-July 2026, Palm Springs was home to 133 Class 1 designations across the city. Not all of them are residential and some of those designations cover several properties at once. About 75-80 are residential homes, while the others are commercial buildings, civic structures or churches. Palm Springs does not cap how many designations it will permit, but it does process an average of 12 designations per year.
Despite the number of homes that have earned the historic designation in Palm Springs, there are still hundreds more that are eligible.
The Mills Act In Rancho Mirage
Rancho Mirage has a bit of a different system than the one used in Palm Springs. A much smaller community, Rancho Mirage relies on its Historic Preservation Commission to administer its Mills Act contracts. Unlike Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage does not utilize a tiered system. It simply designates a property as historic and then offers the owner the opportunity to apply for a Mills Act contract.
The designation process in Rancho Mirage begins with a Historic Resource Survey, which has identified a number of properties with the potential to earn historic designation. Similar to the parameters in Palm Springs, the criteria for designation in Rancho Mirage takes into account a property’s historical or architectural significance as well as its local significance from a cultural, religious, political or business perspective.
In Rancho Mirage, the list of properties that has received historic designation almost exclusively includes single-family homes. As of early 2026, the historic register in Rancho Mirage contained 74 entries.
While other California cities engage with the Mills Act, Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage are clear standouts. Indian Wells, La Quinta and Palm Desert are all known to have candidate properties, historic registers and application windows.
The PS Properties Advantage
For buyers who are looking to learn more about the advantages the Mills Act offers, or for buyers who simply want to maximize their purchase of a property with historic designation, the PS Properties team has a wealth of expertise to share. As one of the most consistent, leading producers in the Palm Springs and Coachella Valley areas, the PS Properties team has sold more than 14 homes that have earned historic designation.
Those sales have totaled over $55 million. In addition, we’ve sold six other homes totaling $22 million that would qualify for historic designation, but the owners have decided not to seek designation. That means we have a notable depth of knowledge about the Mills Act and how it impacts property owners long-term. It also means we might just have a soft spot for homes that preserve icons of the past, either for their aesthetics or their architectural significance.
To be specific, the PS Properties team has sold homes with historic designation in Little Tuscany, Movie Colony, Old Las Palmas, Deepwell Estates, Thunderbird Estates and beyond. In fact, in Movie Colony East, we had the opportunity in early 2026 to represent the legendary Wexler Residence.
The property, a midcentury classic, was home to pioneering architectural legend Donald Wexler. A Class 1 Historic Resource, it sold for $3.57 million.
In Thunderbird Heights, we had the opportunity to represent a spectacular Moroccan-influenced villa known as White Shadows, a home lauded for its architectural significance and its artisanal luxury. It sold for $5.3 million, offering the Mills Act designation to the new owners.
And, in 2016 PS Properties represented the infamous Bob Hope House, which is one of the most iconic residences in modern architecture. Designed by modernist and Frank Lloyd Wright protege John Lautner, the 13-bedroom home sold for $13 million in 2016.
Despite new builds and luxury estates that dot the hillsides and sprawl across the landscape throughout Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage and the entire Coachella Valley, there is a time capsule feel to the nostalgia that radiates from the historic homes in this area. The stories held within the walls of these timeless properties include celebrity names, political engagements and social gatherings filled with the biggest names in business and philanthropy.
And the influence these homes had on the look and feel of Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley is hard to adequately capture.
For historic homes, there is no place quite like Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage or any of the other cities that embrace the California-exclusive Mills Act. And for sellers in need of professionals with extensive experience representing homes that carry a certain level of significance, there is no better team than PS Properties.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Mills Act in Palm Springs?
The Mills Act is a California state law enacted in 1972 that allows cities and counties to enter into contracts with the owners of qualified historic properties. The owner agrees to restore and maintain the property, and in exchange receives a reduced property tax bill. In Palm Springs, only Class 1 and Class 2 designated properties can use the incentive.
How much can you save with a Mills Act contract?
Some homeowners see savings of up to 70% from their pre-contract tax bill, though the actual figure moves on a sliding scale depending on a number of variables. Contracts run for 10 years and renew automatically unless the owner or the municipality gives notice of non-renewal, and they transfer with a change of ownership.
What is the difference between a Class 1 and Class 2 historic designation?
Class 1 is the highest tier and marks a property as a landmark for its historic, architectural, archaeological, cultural or aesthetic significance. Class 2 signals historic merit where a property likely falls short of Class 1 on structural or aesthetic integrity. Mills Act incentives can be used at the Class 2 tier only if the structure still physically exists.
How many historic homes are there in Palm Springs?
As of mid-July 2026, Palm Springs had 133 Class 1 designations citywide. Not all are residential, and some designations cover several properties at once. Roughly 75 to 80 are residential homes, with the balance commercial buildings, civic structures and churches. The city does not cap designations and processes about 12 per year, and hundreds more properties remain eligible.
Does the Mills Act apply outside Palm Springs?
Yes. Rancho Mirage relies on its Historic Preservation Commission to administer Mills Act contracts and does not use a tiered system, simply designating a property as historic and then allowing the owner to apply. Its historic register held 74 entries as of early 2026. Indian Wells, La Quinta and Palm Desert are also known to have candidate properties, historic registers and application windows.
PS Properties, also known as Patrick Stewart Properties, has been serving the Palm Springs and Coachella Valley area for more than 20 years. Principals Patrick Jordan and Stewart Smith guide a team of experts who specialize in offering clients guidance when buying or selling distinctive modern, luxury, architecturally-significant or historically-significant homes. In a rare class of Palm Springs area realtors, PS Properties has been included in the $100 million club for three years running and has accrued more than $1 billion in real estate transactions. Learn more at https://www.patrickstewartproperties.com/.
