Zillow is a billion-dollar Internet marketer that "gives" automated estimates which purport to calculate the sales value of each and every residence in the United States. Zillow tries to accomplish this task by using a fancy logarithm that compares factors which impact property values, but here's a 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 research the web for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll discover many testimonials by angry homeowners and skeptical real estate buyers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Westover report 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 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 buyers and sellers. Real estate sellers and property buyers should understand that there is not a single community in Westover where either a bank or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert advice is to take estimates from any online site with a grain of salt. Putting too much stock into a website can cause a lot of confusion.

Phone us 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 Realtor will take into account the many variables which make up your home's ideal price.