Zillow is a billion-dollar Internet marketer that "gives" automated estimates which claim to calculate the sales value of each home in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this task by using a fancy logarithm that compares factors which affect 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 research the Internet for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll discover countless testimonials by upset property owners and skeptical real estate purchasers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Accotink_heights claim that Zillow's estimates have a margin of error of about 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 astounding 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 home purchasers should understand that there is not a single neighborhood in Accotink_heights where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Zillow for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert advice is to take "valuations" from any website with a grain of salt. Putting too much reliance into a website can cause a great deal of unnecessary anxiety.

Talk to Nesbitt Realty today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's value. We promise that a website won't set the market value. Instead, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty real estate agent will take into account the unique variables which make up your property's sales value.