Zillow is a billion-dollar website that "gives" automated estimates that claim to figure the ideal price of each property in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this task by using a fancy program that crossreferences factors which alter home 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 Google the Internet for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll discover many testimonials by angry property owners and skeptical real estate buyers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in The Glebe say that Zillow's valuations 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 improbable 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. Real estate sellers and real estate buyers should know that there is not a single community in The Glebe where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Zillow for tax assessment or appraisals. Our professional advice is to take estimates from any computer with a grain of salt. Putting too much reliance into a computer logarithm can cause a great deal of confusion.

Phone one of our local experts today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's value. We promise that a computer won't set the sales value. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty expert will take into account the complicated variables which make up your real estate's sales value.