Zillow is a billion-dollar Internet marketer that "gives" automated estimates which purport to figure the market value of each and every home in the United States. Zillow tries to reach this goal this task by using a fancy 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 search the web for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll discover many testimonials by upset homeowners and leery property purchasers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Key And Nash claim 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 market 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 real estate shoppers. Property owners and property buyers should know that there is not a single community in Key And Nash where either a mortgage lender 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 computer can cause a great deal of unnecessary anxiety.

Connect with one of our agents today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's value. We promise that a website won't set the ideal price. Instead, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty real estate agent will take into account the many variables which make up your property's ideal price.