Zillow is a billion-dollar website that provides computerized estimates which claim to calculate the ideal price of every residence in the United States. Zillow tries to accomplish this task by using a complicated 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 many complaints by upset property owners and skeptical property purchasers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Old_mill say that Zillow's valuations 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 value. If the margin of error is an improbable 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. Home sellers and real estate buyers should know that there is not a single community in Old_mill where either a bank or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our professional advice is to take "valuations" from any website at arm’s length. Putting too much reliance into a computer can cause a lot of disappointment.

Get in touch with one of our agents today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's value. We promise that a computer won't set the sales value. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty expert will take into account the complicated variables which make up your real estate's market value.