Zillow is a popular website that provides automated estimates which claim to figure the ideal price of each and every property in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this task by using a complicated logarithm which crossreferences factors which impact home values, but here's a typical story I have heard from real estate sellers in Northern Virginia:

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 testimonials by angry homeowners and skeptical home purchasers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Chancery_of_kingstowne report that Zillow's estimates have a margin of error of approximately 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 value. 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 people. Real estate sellers and real estate purchasers should know that there is not a single neighborhood in Chancery_of_kingstowne where either a bank or tax collector uses Zillow for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert advice is to take "valuations" from any online site with a grain of salt. Putting too much reliance into a computer logarithm can cause a great deal of confusion.

Connect with us today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's value. We promise that a computer won't set the market value. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty expert will take into account the many variables which make up your real estate's ideal price.