Joseph Pettinella's blog

May is just around the corner, which means two things are almost here: the next First Friday Poughkeepsie and Cinco de Mayo! This year, the first Friday in May falls on the 4th, while the 5th is on Saturday. Luckily, the First Friday organizers aren't letting something as small as one day keep these two great events from joining forces! Head down to Mural Square on Friday to celebrate both beautiful Poughkeepsie and Mexican culture!

If you're a bird lover, this post is for you! The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook is teaming up with the Ralph T. Waterman Bird Club to offer a series of three guided walks on the Institute's grounds. Birders of all skill levels will enjoy seeing and identifying our feathered friends in their natural habitat on April 15, May 27, and June 10.

When determining a home's market value, there are major characteristics that rightly command most of the attention; things such as square footage, neighborhood, and the number of bedrooms are both obvious in importance and easy to quantify. However, there are an almost innumerable amount of more subtle factors that also come into play, a fact examined in a recent study by real estate analytics company HouseCanary. They sought to determine the effect of 5 "hidden" characteristics on a home's value. These details might not always receive an obvious, or even conscious, emphasis, but they are nevertheless connected to the market value of the home. In fact, significant correlations not only exist for things like frontage length and backyard slope, but they also show distinct regional trends.