Zillow is a popular Internet marketer that provides computerized estimates which purport to calculate the ideal price of every residence in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this feat by using a complicated logarithm which crossreferences factors which impact property 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 Google the web for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll find many posts by upset homeowners and skeptical property purchasers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Piney_run report that Zillow's estimates 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 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 (for now) remains popular with some real estate shoppers. Home sellers and real estate buyers should understand that there is not a single community in Piney_run where either a bank or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our professional advice is to take estimates from any website with a grain of salt. Putting too much trust into a computer can cause a lot of irration.

Phone Nesbitt Realty today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's worth. We promise that a website won't set the ideal price. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty real estate pro will take into account the many variables which make up your real estate's ideal price.