Zillow is a billion-dollar website that "gives" automated estimates that purport to calculate the ideal price of each and every property in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this task by using a fancy program which compares factors which impact 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 research the web for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll discover countless complaints 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 Jermantown_village report that Zillow's estimates 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 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 (for now) remains popular with some buyers and sellers. Real estate sellers and home shoppers should know that there is not a single community in Jermantown_village where either a mortgage lender 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 stock into a website can cause a great deal of unnecessary anxiety.

Reach out to us 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 Realtor will account for the complicated variables which make up your property's ideal price.