Zillow is a billion-dollar website that "gives" "z-estimates" which purport to figure the ideal price of each property in the United States. Zillow tries to reach this goal this feat by using a sophisticated logarithm which crossreferences factors which alter home values, but here's a 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 research the web for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll find many testimonials by upset homeowners and leery real estate buyers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Parkside_of_alexandria say 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 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. Home sellers and property shoppers should understand that there is not a single neighborhood in Parkside_of_alexandria where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our professional advice is to take "valuations" from any computer with a grain of salt. Putting too much reliance into a computer logarithm can cause a lot of confusion.

Get in touch with one of our agents today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's worth. We promise that a computer won't set the value. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty expert will take into account the unique variables which make up your property's ideal price.