Blogs

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.

It seems reasonable to assume that most people consider trees to be a positive landscaping feature. Following that train of thought, most people would probably guess (correctly) that houses with trees sell for more money than houses without trees; however, far fewer people would be able to correctly guess the size of the price difference. Go ahead, decide on a number in your head. Ready for the answer? According to the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station, having even a single tree in front of an urban house increases that home’s sale price by an average of $7,130! Even if you don't plan on selling, that same tree can provide serious benefits in other ways as well.