Can I trust Zillow estimates?

Zillow is a popular website that provides automated estimates which purport to calculate the ideal price of every home in the United States. Zillow tries to accomplish this task by using a fancy program that crossreferences factors which affect property values, but here's a story I have heard from property sellers in Northern Virginia:

Is Zillow accurate? — Many consumers have serious doubts about the accuracy of Zillow home value estimates.

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 find countless complaints by angry property owners and skeptical home buyers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Fairlington Commons claim that Zillow's estimates have a margin of error of approximately 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 impressive 5% that means that a z-estimate is only within $25,000 of the asking price.

Yet Zillow (for now) remains popular with some people. Home sellers and real estate purchasers should know that there is not a single community in Fairlington Commons where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our professional advice is to take estimates from any online site at arm’s length. Putting too much reliance into a computer logarithm can cause a lot of unnecessary anxiety.

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