Can I trust some Internet company to calculate the value of my property in Foxhall?
Zillow is a popular website that "gives" automated estimates that purport to calculate the market value of each property in the United States. Zillow tries to accomplish this feat by using a complicated logarithm which crossreferences factors which affect 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 Google the web for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll find countless posts by angry property owners and leery real estate buyers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Foxhall report 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 ideal price. If the margin of error is an astounding 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. Property owners and property buyers should understand that there is not a single community in Foxhall where either a bank or tax collector uses Zillow for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert advice is to take estimates from any computer at arm’s length. Putting too much trust into a computer logarithm can cause a lot of irration.
Contact one of our agents 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 real estate pro will measure the unique variables which make up your property's market value.
