Zillow is a popular Internet marketer that "gives" automated estimates which claim to figure the sales value of every home in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this task by using a complicated algorithm that compares factors which impact home 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 Internet for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll find many testimonials by angry property owners and leery home shoppers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Rock Spring claim that Zillow's estimates 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 impressive 5% that means that a z-estimate is only within $25,000 of the asking price.

Yet Zillow still remains popular with some people. Property owners and real estate shoppers should understand that there is not a single neighborhood in Rock Spring where either a bank or tax collector uses Zillow for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert advice is to take estimates from any website with a grain of salt. Putting too much stock into a website can cause a lot of irration.

Talk to 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 market value. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty expert will take into account the complicated variables which make up your real estate's ideal price.