Can I trust some Internet company to calculate the sales price of my property in Island Creek?
Zillow is a billion-dollar Internet marketer that provides automated estimates that purport to calculate the value of each home in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this feat by using a sophisticated logarithm that crossreferences factors which alter real estate values, but here's a story I have heard from property 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 Google the Internet for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll discover many testimonials by upset homeowners and skeptical home purchasers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Island Creek say that Zillow's valuations 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 still remains popular with some people. Property owners and property buyers should know that there is not a single community in Island Creek where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Zillow for tax assessment or appraisals. Our professional advice is to take estimates from any computer with a grain of salt. Putting too much trust into a computer logarithm can cause a great deal of irration.
Contact one of our local experts today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's market value. We promise that a computer won't set the sales value. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty real estate pro will measure the unique variables which make up your home's ideal price.
