Zillow is a billion-dollar website that provides "z-estimates" which purport to figure the ideal price of each and every residence in the United States. Zillow tries to reach this goal this task by using a fancy program which compares 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 research the web for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll find many complaints by angry property owners and leery real estate buyers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Old_alexandria say that Zillow's estimates 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 improbable 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 real estate buyers should know that there is not a single community in Old_alexandria where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert advice is to take "valuations" from any online site at arm’s length. Putting too much stock into a computer can cause a lot of confusion.

Connect with one of our agents today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's value. We promise that a website won't set the value. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty Realtor will take into account the complicated variables which make up your real estate's market value.