Zillow is a billion-dollar website that "gives" automated estimates that claim to figure the sales value of each and every home in the United States. Zillow tries to reach this goal this task by using a fancy program that crossreferences factors which affect real estate values, but here's a typical 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 Internet for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll find countless posts by upset homeowners and skeptical property purchasers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Glebe_manors 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 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 buyers and sellers. Real estate sellers and home buyers should know that there is not a single community in Glebe_manors where either a bank or tax collector uses Zillow for tax assessment or appraisals. Our professional advice is to take estimates from any online site with a grain of salt. Putting too much trust into a website can cause a great deal of irration.

Reach out to one of our local experts today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's worth. We promise that a website won't set the market value. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty real estate pro will measure the complicated variables which make up your property's market value.