Zillow is a popular website that "gives" computerized estimates which claim to calculate the ideal price of each and every home in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this task by using a fancy logarithm that crossreferences factors which impact real estate 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 search the web for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll discover many posts by upset homeowners and leery property buyers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Thornrose say 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 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. Home sellers and real estate purchasers should understand that there is not a single community in Thornrose where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our professional advice is to take estimates from any online site with a grain of salt. Putting too much trust into a computer can cause a lot of unnecessary anxiety.

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