Zillow is a billion-dollar website that provides automated estimates which claim to figure the market value of every residence in the United States. Zillow tries to accomplish this feat by using a fancy algorithm which crossreferences factors which affect 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 countless complaints by angry property owners and skeptical property buyers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in The_best_location_ Walk_to_23rd_st report 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 astounding 5% that means that a z-estimate is only within $25,000 of the asking price.

Yet Zillow still remains popular with some buyers and sellers. Real estate sellers and home shoppers should understand that there is not a single community in The_best_location_ Walk_to_23rd_st where either a bank or tax collector uses Zillow for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert advice is to take "valuations" from any computer at arm’s length. Putting too much trust into a website can cause a lot of irration.

Call Nesbitt Realty today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's worth. We promise that a computer won't set the sales value. Instead, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty Realtor will take into account the complicated variables which make up your property's market value.