About DwellingData
DwellingData helps journalists, policymakers, asset managers and everyday citizens understand how people really feel about where they live — and what drives them to move or stay.
We conduct housing sentiment surveys across Canada and the U.S., and share our findings through national snapshots and commissioned tenant sentiment insight kits.
Our mission is to illuminate the emotional, personal, and financial drivers of housing decisions — so journalists can report on them, policymakers can respond to them, and asset managers can use them to support certification, strengthen valuations, and unlock ESG-aligned capital.
Whether you're covering a housing trend, shaping local policy, managing a portfolio, or just curious what's happening across neighborhoods like yours — DwellingData gives you the tools to see what’s shifting, and why it matters.
Who’s Behind DwellingData?
DwellingData was founded by Dr. Ada Y. Barlatt, Ph.D., P.Eng., an award-winning researcher, former data consultant, and engineering professor who has spent her career transforming complex data into meaningful insights.
With a background spanning programming, analytics, and decision-making training, Ada brings a unique blend of technical expertise and a deep curiosity about how mindset influences life choices — particularly decisions about where to live.
Ada’s interest in housing isn’t new. From childhood, she was drawn to HGTV — not for the décor but for a more fundamental question: What turns a dwelling into a home? She’s fascinated by how people weigh trade-offs, navigate compromises, and justify their housing decisions — decisions that look different for everyone.
The idea for DwellingData took shape while Ada watched housing crisis coverage in the U.S. and Canada and read the discussions in the comment sections. In the comments, she found perspectives sometimes missed in the articles and videos: the full spectrum of how people actually think about housing. Some focused on buying a home as soon as possible, others were happy to always be a renter. For some, a backyard was essential; for others, it was wasted space. One person's must have was another person's dealbreaker. What struck Ada was this: we all share the same housing market, but not the same definition of home.
This sparked a whole list of questions:
- How do people really think through housing decisions?
- What do we miss by focusing only on prices and supply?
- And how could better data bridge the gap between the housing that exists — and the housing people actually want?
DwellingData was created to make that nuance measurable. With clear, actionable insights, we help the people shaping housing — from city officials to asset managers — see the human stories behind the numbers.
