Zillow is a billion-dollar website that "gives" automated estimates which purport to calculate the sales value of every home in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this task by using a complicated logarithm which compares factors which alter property 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 search the web for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll discover countless posts by upset property owners and skeptical home purchasers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Place_one claim 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 market 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 people. Real estate sellers and home shoppers should know that there is not a single community in Place_one where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Zillow for tax assessment or appraisals. Our professional 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 disappointment.

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