Zillow is a popular website that provides "z-estimates" which claim to figure the sales value of each home in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this task by using a sophisticated logarithm that crossreferences factors which alter 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 Google the Internet for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll discover countless complaints by upset homeowners and leery home purchasers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Edge_hill report that Zillow's valuations 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 ideal price. If the margin of error is an astounding 5% that means that a z-estimate is only within $25,000 of the asking price.

Yet Zillow (for now) remains popular with some real estate shoppers. Real estate sellers and home purchasers should understand that there is not a single neighborhood in Edge_hill 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 with a grain of salt. Putting too much trust into a website can cause a lot of unnecessary anxiety.

Talk to 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 sales value. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty Realtor will take into account the unique variables which make up your home's ideal price.