Zillow is a billion-dollar Internet marketer that provides automated estimates that purport to figure the sales value of each and every home in the United States. Zillow tries to accomplish this task by using a sophisticated logarithm that compares factors which impact real estate values, but here's a typical story I have heard from real estate 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 angry property owners and leery home buyers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Woodburn Village claim that Zillow's estimates 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 sales 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 (for now) remains popular with some people. Property owners and home buyers should understand that there is not a single neighborhood in Woodburn Village where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert advice is to take "valuations" from any online site at arm’s length. Putting too much stock into a website can cause a great deal of irration.

Call us today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's market value. We promise that a computer won't set the sales value. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty real estate agent will account for the many variables which make up your real estate's market value.