Can I trust Zillow to appraise the market value of my home in Forest Lake Estates?
Zillow is a popular Internet marketer that provides "z-estimates" that claim to calculate the sales value of each home in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this task by using a complicated program that compares factors which alter home values, but here's a story I have heard from real estate sellers in Northern Virginia:
![Zillow Is Zillow accurate?](https://nesbittrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/zillow.gif)
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 find countless complaints by angry homeowners and leery real estate shoppers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Forest Lake Estates claim that Zillow's valuations have a margin of error of approximately 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 buyers and sellers. Home sellers and home buyers should understand that there is not a single community in Forest Lake Estates where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Zillow for tax assessment or appraisals. Our professional advice is to take estimates from any online site at arm’s length. Putting too much stock into a computer can cause a lot of unnecessary anxiety.
Reach out to 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 agent will measure the many variables which make up your real estate's market value.
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