Zillow is a billion-dollar website that "gives" automated estimates that purport to calculate the ideal price of every residence in the United States. Zillow tries to accomplish this task by using a complicated logarithm which crossreferences factors which alter 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 web for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll discover many posts by angry homeowners and skeptical property shoppers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Vernon Heights claim that Zillow's estimates 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 value. 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 still remains popular with some buyers and sellers. Real estate sellers and property purchasers should understand that there is not a single neighborhood in Vernon Heights where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our professional advice is to take estimates from any website at arm’s length. Putting too much reliance into a computer logarithm can cause a great deal of irration.

Contact Nesbitt Realty today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's worth. We promise that a website won't set the market value. Instead, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty expert will take into account the complicated variables which make up your real estate's market value.