Zillow is a billion-dollar Internet marketer that "gives" "z-estimates" that claim to calculate the ideal price of each home in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this feat by using a complicated algorithm which compares factors which affect property 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 countless posts by angry property owners and leery home purchasers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Dominion_hill 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 ideal price. If the margin of error is an unlikley 5% that means that a z-estimate is only within $25,000 of the asking price.

Yet Zillow (for now) remains popular with some real estate shoppers. Real estate sellers and home shoppers should understand that there is not a single neighborhood in Dominion_hill where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Zillow 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 great deal of confusion.

Contact Nesbitt Realty today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's market value. We promise that a website won't set the ideal price. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty real estate pro will measure the many variables which make up your real estate's market value.