Zillow is a billion-dollar website that "gives" automated estimates which claim to calculate the market value of every residence 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 story I have heard from property 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 find countless posts by upset homeowners and skeptical property purchasers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Countryview report that Zillow's valuations 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. Home sellers and home buyers should understand that there is not a single neighborhood in Countryview where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our professional advice is to take "valuations" from any online site with a grain of salt. Putting too much stock into a website can cause a great deal of irration.

Talk to one of our agents today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's worth. We promise that a website won't set the ideal price. Instead, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty real estate pro will account for the complicated variables which make up your property's market value.