Appraising a House with a nice backyard- Help (Madison: for sale, real estate)

[skd8]

I am from the east coast but moving to Madison, WI soon for a new job and looking to buy a house for the first time! We had taken a short trip to Madison few days ago to meet with our realtors and look at about 10-20 prospective houses. Of which we liked one, it has a good floor plan, good neighborhood and good sun light (on the downside it does need a lot of updating- it has old appliances and bad bathrooms) but one of the biggest asset of the house is the backyard, it’s very private and large with a small stream flowing through it.

Now after doing some marketing analysis we realized that the houses in the same neighborhood have been selling at an average of about 118-130 per sq/ft. This house however is priced at 150 per sq/ft and we thought its really over priced but our realtor has been telling us that the yard can easily add almost $100,000 to the value of the house. Is this true? I did look through several websites and did some research but I couldn’t validate this information, just wondering any one here with good real estate knowledge who could guide us with this. I will be happy to provide more details.
Help is appreciated

[gold*dust1]

Originally Posted by skd8

I am from the east coast but moving to Madison, WI soon for a new job and looking to buy a house for the first time! We had taken a short trip to Madison few days ago to meet with our realtors and look at about 10-20 prospective houses. Of which we liked one, it has a good floor plan, good neighborhood and good sun light (on the downside it does need a lot of updating- it has old appliances and bad bathrooms) but one of the biggest asset of the house is the backyard, it’s very private and large with a small stream flowing through it.

Now after doing some marketing analysis we realized that the houses in the same neighborhood have been selling at an average of about 118-130 per sq/ft. This house however is priced at 150 per sq/ft and we thought its really over priced but our realtor has been telling us that the yard can easily add almost $100,000 to the value of the house. Is this true? I did look through several websites and did some research but I couldn’t validate this information, just wondering any one here with good real estate knowledge who could guide us with this. I will be happy to provide more details.
Help is appreciated

Any offer you make should be based on recent sold comps. Don't offer more than you feel comfortable with. You can trust some realtors as far as you can throw them.

[ranger17]

that sort of difference could possibly be between a lake front lot and one across the street. Or one right on the golf course, or one down the street. But as you didn't mention those sorts of variables, and knowing the home will need work; seems overpriced ( just based on that info ). There are plenty of homes for sale in every neighborhood/region so one should be able to find the right spot.
If I may suggest, since this is a new relocate for you: when we recently moved to SC from WI and it was a new area for us, we rented for this first year. This allowed us plenty of time to not only find the right community/suburb to want to live in long term, but the right neighborhood as well. The first few months we spent a lot of time driving around looking at homes/areas ( that also helped us learn the roads and cities, plus see some nice sights as well ); now we are in the process of getting into a new home as our current lease expires. Is it a bit of a pain to move twice in a year? maybe. But knowing we are more comfortable with our choice of home ownership is well worth it. Plus knowing the market is still soft and wil take some time to jump back up, we didn't want to buy right away and then possibly "be stuck" as we could not sell and get out.
Anyhow, just a thought.
good luck