Zillow is a billion-dollar website that "gives" "z-estimates" which claim to figure the ideal price of every property in the United States. Zillow tries to reach this goal this task by using a sophisticated program that compares factors which impact home 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 research the web for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll find many complaints by angry homeowners and leery property shoppers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Waverly_taylor 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 market 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. Real estate sellers and home buyers should know that there is not a single community in Waverly_taylor where either a bank or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert advice is to take estimates from any website at arm’s length. Putting too much trust into a website can cause a great deal of disappointment.

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