Can I trust Zillow estimates?

Zillow is a billion-dollar website that "gives" "z-estimates" that purport to calculate the market value of every residence in the United States. Zillow tries to reach this goal this feat by using a complicated logarithm that crossreferences factors which alter home values, but here's a story I have heard from home sellers in Northern Virginia:

Is Zillow accurate? — Many consumers have serious doubts about the accuracy of Zillow home value estimates.

Our home was recently appraised for 650K. Zillow estimates the value at 521K. The estimate makes us one of the lowest priced homes in the subdivision. We have all upgrades in our home and it is the largest of the homes that were originally built in this subdivision. It was appraised at 750K before 2009. Our home has a basement. Neighbors do not have basement on one side and you appraised higher. Really? -- James E. - Fort Hunt

If you search the Internet for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll discover countless posts by angry property owners and skeptical home buyers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Abbots Woods claim that Zillow's estimates have a margin of error of about 20%. Even if we assume the margin of error is only 10%, in Northern Virginia that means a "z-estimate" is only within $50,000 of the actual ideal price. If the margin of error is an unlikley 5% that means that a z-estimate is only within $25,000 of the asking price.

Yet Zillow (for now) remains popular with some buyers and sellers. Real estate sellers and real estate buyers should know that there is not a single neighborhood in Abbots Woods where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert advice is to take "valuations" from any website with a grain of salt. Putting too much trust into a computer can cause a great deal of irration.

Call us today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's market value. We promise that a website won't set the sales value. Instead, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty expert will measure the many variables which make up your property's ideal price.