Can I rely on some Internet company to figure out the value of my home in Mt_vernon_manor?
Zillow is a popular website that provides "z-estimates" which claim to calculate the sales value of each property in the United States. Zillow tries to accomplish this task by using a complicated logarithm which compares factors which impact home values, but here's a typical story I have heard from home 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 posts by angry homeowners and leery property buyers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Mt_vernon_manor claim 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 ideal price. 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 home purchasers should understand that there is not a single community in Mt_vernon_manor where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Zillow for tax assessment or appraisals. Our professional advice is to take estimates from any computer at arm’s length. Putting too much trust into a computer logarithm can cause a lot of unnecessary anxiety.
Contact us today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's market value. We promise that a computer won't set the ideal price. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty real estate agent will take into account the complicated variables which make up your real estate's market value.
