
New Home Insights Podcast
Issues, interviews, and insights into the U.S. housing market. Monthly takes on what’s happening in the housing market today, and what might be happening tomorrow. From the John Burns Research and Consulting (JBREC) team.
The podcast is hosted by Dean Wehrli, Principal at JBREC. Dean manages residential and commercial real estate consulting assignments across the country and has deep knowledge of California’s Bay Area, Sacramento, and Central Valley markets as well as Northern Nevada.
John Burns Research and Consulting is an independent research provider and consulting firm focused on the housing industry. The company’s research subscribers receive the most accurate analysis possible to inform their macro investment decisions, and the company’s consulting clients receive specific property and portfolio investment advice designed to maximize profits. The team takes great pride in enabling the profitable development of the best places to live in the world.
Latest episodes

Jun 2, 2023 • 41min
Episode 79: Earth, Wind, and Fire: NileBuilt Homes Defy the Elements
Could your home survive a spin on the surface of the sun? No? A NileBuilt home could (probably). That’s over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s ghost pepper hot. That’s middle of a microwaved Hot Pocket hot. NileBuilt is a materials company taking a step into the production home world. The critical difference is NileBuilt uses a concrete material with a hyper-insulating core to build its homes. This makes their homes fire resistant, efficient, quiet, and cool. We thought that sounded interesting, so we talked with Scott Long, the cofounder and CEO of NileBuilt, on this episode of the New Home Insights podcast.

May 12, 2023 • 44min
Episode 78: A Master Class in Bathroom and Kitchen Design
When homeowners are surveyed about which rooms are most critical to get right, the kitchen and the primary bath typically top the list. But that doesn’t make it easy. There is an ongoing battle between functionality and aesthetics, and the struggle to stay on top of trends is constant.
Brian Juedes, National Vice President of Product Design at Taylor Morrison, fights this battle every day. If there are trade-offs to be made that impact the desirability of your home, you had better make the right ones. Brian has done the hard work so now, after listening to this New Home Insights podcast episode, you won’t have to.

Apr 13, 2023 • 37min
Episode 77: Can ADUs Help 'Fix' Housing Affordability?
Sean Roberts, CEO of Villa, joins our podcast to discuss what he's seeing in the ADU market and how his company is providing solutions for the current housing market shortage and affordability issue.

Mar 17, 2023 • 44min
Episode 76: Opendoor and the Future of iBuying
iBuying exploded onto the housing scene a few years ago with the potential to change how we buy and sell our homes. After Zillow and Redfin exited the sector, Opendoor now controls the lion’s share of the iBuyer market.
As higher mortgage rates and the threat of economic slowdown have slowed housing in general, where do Opendoor and iBuying go from here? How will Opendoor adapt to changing market forces? Will they try new tactics and develop new strategies? What will they do more of or less of? And how will Opendoor interact with other major market players, such as new home builders?
On this episode of New Home Insights, Dean Wehrli talks with Alex Toth and Derek Schairer, who manage Opendoor’s home builder program, about how Opendoor plans not only to survive but thrive as they evolve.
Note: This episode was recorded on February 16, 2023

Feb 24, 2023 • 38min
Episode 75: How Many Homes Are Enough?
Chris Porter, JBREC's own Chief Demographer and co-author of "Big Shifts Ahead", joins the podcast to discuss how long-term demographic trends are ultimately going to shape the demand for housing. Chris shares some insights and findings from our latest white paper, which is a deep-dive on how much the US housing market is undersupplied and what would be a reasonable amount of construction to bring the US into balance.

Jan 20, 2023 • 34min
Episode 74: New Home? We Will Get That Printed Right Away
The New Home Insights podcast is always trying to define the future of housing. Market trends, design trends, economic trends. But what about how we actually build our homes? What once seemed like something for the far-off future is here now—3D-printed homes.
Century Communities is a trailblazer in the emerging world of 3D-printed homes. Genji Nakata, Executive Vice President of National Operations at Century Communities, helped us explore this world in the latest episode of New Home Insights.

Dec 30, 2022 • 46min
Episode 73: Building the Perfect Place One Home at a Time
Kris Maher, Senior Vice President of Design at Rancho Mission Viejo, heads up a “creative collective” that guides their master plan placemaking. Join us for some of the lessons Kris has taken to heart, and her thoughts on placemaking—not just next year, but ten years from now.

Dec 14, 2022 • 52min
Episode 72: Is the Remodeling Boom about to Go Bust?
Eric Finnigan of John Burns Real Estate Consulting is a thought leader in the remodeling space. Let Eric walk you through the basics, the nuances, the future, the economics, and even the demographics, of the remodeling world.

Nov 11, 2022 • 39min
Episode 71: Can Arrived Homes Turn Small Investments into Big Bucks?
Dean is joined by Ryan Frazier, co-founder and CEO of Arrived Homes, a company who is taking a unique angle in the world of single-family housing investments. Arrived Homes is focused on providing a seamless experience for small time investors who want to invest in real estate, but don't want all the operational hassle that may come along with it.

Oct 28, 2022 • 44min
Episode 70: ESG: A Smarter Way to Invest
You may not know what ESG is but you should. ESG is an investment strategy. It stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance.
DuPont is one of the biggest companies in the world and they take ESG very seriously. To help us understand why and what that means, we have on the podcast two key people at DuPont, a bigger part of the housing sector than you might think. Alan Hubbell leads DuPont’s Performance Building Solutions residential marketing team, and Shawn Hunter is DuPont’s leader of sustainable solutions for their building and construction business unit.