Zillow is a billion-dollar Internet marketer that provides "z-estimates" which purport to figure the ideal price of each residence in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this task by using a sophisticated logarithm that crossreferences 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 Internet for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll discover countless posts by angry property owners and leery real estate shoppers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Knox_condominiums_of_ballston report that Zillow's valuations have a margin of error of about 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 sales 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 still remains popular with some buyers and sellers. Real estate sellers and home buyers should understand that there is not a single community in Knox_condominiums_of_ballston where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert advice is to take "valuations" from any computer at arm’s length. Putting too much trust into a computer logarithm can cause a lot of disappointment.

Talk to one of our agents today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's market value. We promise that a website won't set the sales value. Instead, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty expert will account for the unique variables which make up your home's market value.