Zillow is a billion-dollar website that "gives" automated estimates that purport to calculate the ideal price of every property in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this feat by using a sophisticated logarithm that compares factors which affect real estate values, but here's a typical 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 Google the web for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll discover many posts by upset property owners and leery property purchasers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Clifton_grove report 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 market value. 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 real estate shoppers. Property owners and real estate purchasers should know that there is not a single neighborhood in Clifton_grove where either a bank or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our professional advice is to take estimates from any website with a grain of salt. Putting too much trust into a computer logarithm can cause a lot of confusion.

Connect with us today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's market value. We promise that a website won't set the sales value. Instead, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty real estate pro will account for the unique variables which make up your real estate's ideal price.