Zillow is a popular Internet marketer that "gives" "z-estimates" that claim to calculate the market value of every residence in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this task by using a sophisticated logarithm which compares factors which impact property 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 many posts by angry homeowners and leery real estate purchasers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Stratford_place_at_kingstowne 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 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 (for now) remains popular with some people. Property owners and property shoppers should know that there is not a single neighborhood in Stratford_place_at_kingstowne where either a bank or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our professional advice is to take "valuations" from any website with a grain of salt. Putting too much reliance into a computer can cause a lot of disappointment.

Reach out to one of our local experts today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's worth. We promise that a computer won't set the market value. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty real estate agent will measure the many variables which make up your home's market value.