Zillow is a popular website that provides automated estimates which purport to calculate the ideal price of each and every residence in the United States. Zillow tries to reach this goal this task by using a complicated program which crossreferences factors which affect home values, but here's a typical 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 posts by angry property owners and leery home shoppers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Mt_vernon_square_townhouses report that Zillow's valuations have a margin of error of around 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 impressive 5% that means that a z-estimate is only within $25,000 of the asking price.

Yet Zillow still remains popular with some real estate shoppers. Property owners and home purchasers should know that there is not a single community in Mt_vernon_square_townhouses where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Zillow for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert advice is to take "valuations" from any online site at arm’s length. Putting too much trust into a computer can cause a great deal of irration.

Call Nesbitt Realty today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's worth. We promise that a computer won't set the sales value. Instead, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty expert will take into account the complicated variables which make up your home's market value.