Can I trust Zillow estimates?

Zillow is a billion-dollar website that provides computerized estimates that claim to calculate the market value of each and every home in the United States. Zillow tries to accomplish this feat by using a sophisticated logarithm that compares factors which affect property values, but here's a story I have heard from real estate sellers in Northern Virginia:

Is Zillow accurate? — Many consumers have serious doubts about the accuracy of Zillow home value estimates.

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 countless posts by angry property owners and leery real estate shoppers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Woodlawn_village report that Zillow's valuations have a margin of error of approximately 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 still remains popular with some people. Home sellers and property buyers should know that there is not a single community in Woodlawn_village 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 computer logarithm can cause a great deal of unnecessary anxiety.

Email us today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's value. We promise that a computer won't set the value. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty real estate pro will measure the unique variables which make up your home's value.