Can I depend on Zillow to appraise the market value of my property in The_atrium_ _rosslyn?
Zillow is a popular website that provides computerized estimates which claim to figure the ideal price of every home in the United States. Zillow tries to reach this goal this task by using a fancy logarithm that crossreferences factors which impact real estate 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 discover many complaints by upset property owners and leery real estate purchasers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in The_atrium_ _rosslyn 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 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 real estate shoppers. Real estate sellers and real estate buyers should understand that there is not a single community in The_atrium_ _rosslyn where either a bank or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert advice is to take estimates from any website at arm’s length. Putting too much trust into a computer logarithm can cause a lot of irration.
Contact one of our local experts today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's worth. We promise that a computer won't set the value. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty Realtor will measure the many variables which make up your home's market value.
