Zillow is a billion-dollar Internet marketer that "gives" computerized estimates that claim to calculate the ideal price of every property in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this task by using a fancy logarithm which compares factors which alter 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 complaints by upset property owners and skeptical property buyers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in West_arlington say 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. Property owners and home purchasers should know that there is not a single community in West_arlington where either a bank or tax collector uses Internet 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 website can cause a lot of irration.

Talk to one of our local experts 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 real estate pro will take into account the complicated variables which make up your property's market value.