Steve Basten

 John Burns Real Estate Consulting

Irvine, CA

It might not have the glamour of an interior design career, but being “the research guy” has given Steve Basten a pretty enviable profile. While leading research of the U.S. kitchen and bath industry as a Senior Manager at Irvine, Calif.-based consulting firm John Burns Real Estate Consulting since 2017, Steve has co-developed and launched a number of K&B projects, among them the quarterly Kitchen and Bath Market Index, a joint venture between NKBA and John Burns. And his research, gleaned from engagement with many of the industry’s largest manufacturers and private equity sponsors, has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and U.S. News & World Report, while his contributions to KBMI have aired on CNBC and Yahoo Finance.

“Data is only as good as the story you attach to it, so I thoroughly enjoy getting my boots on the ground and talking to remodelers, specifiers, contractors, builders, designers and showroom people.”

Steve, who majored in Finance at the University of Wisconsin – Lacrosse, spent the first four years of his career as an analyst in Kohler’s mergers and acquisitions group as well as leading new product development for the company’s North American faucets business. He says his favorite part of his work at John Burns is finding the “color” to enhance the research. “Data is only as good as the story you attach to it, so I thoroughly enjoy getting my boots on the ground and talking to remodelers, specifiers, contractors, builders, designers and showroom people,” he says.

On the home front, Steve is currently in DIY mode with his significant other, renovating a fixer-upper in San Luis Obispo that was built in 1896 to shelter railroad workers. “It’s a unique architectural style and I want the renovation to honor the heritage of the original design,” he says. “I guess you could say I prefer restoration over modernism.” He also loves his black Lab Louie, fly fishing in Alaska, and visiting national parks. “But I’ve never seen the Grand Canyon. I feel like everyone needs to get a good cry out at the Grand Canyon at least once in their life.”