Jacqulyn Stanton arrived in the Palm Springs area in 1998, which is to say she was here before the revival: before the mid-century houses were rediscovered, before the design press arrived, before the valley became a destination rather than a retreat. She has watched it become all three. A Southern Indiana native, she was licensed in 2003 and held a California broker's license two years later.

Nearly three decades in a single market produces a p...