Zillow is a billion-dollar Internet marketer that "gives" computerized estimates that claim to calculate the sales value of each residence in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this task by using a complicated program which compares factors which impact real estate values, but here's a typical 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 Google the Internet for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll discover many complaints by angry property owners and skeptical home purchasers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in 900 North Washington Street Condominiums say that Zillow's valuations have a margin of error of approximately 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 sales 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 property buyers should understand that there is not a single community in 900 North Washington Street Condominiums where either a bank or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert advice is to take "valuations" from any website with a grain of salt. Putting too much trust into a computer logarithm can cause a lot of unnecessary anxiety.

Reach out to Nesbitt Realty today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's worth. We promise that a computer won't set the market value. Instead, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty real estate pro will measure the unique variables which make up your property's value.