Can I rely on some Internet company to appraise the value of my property in Heritage_square_north?
Zillow is a billion-dollar Internet marketer that "gives" automated estimates which claim to calculate the value of each property in the United States. Zillow tries to accomplish this feat by using a fancy logarithm which crossreferences factors which alter real estate values, but here's a typical 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 search the Internet for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll discover countless posts by angry property owners and skeptical property buyers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Heritage_square_north claim 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 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. Real estate sellers and property buyers should understand that there is not a single neighborhood in Heritage_square_north where either a bank 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 trust into a website can cause a lot of irration.
Phone Nesbitt Realty today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's value. We promise that a website won't set the sales value. Instead, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty expert will account for the unique variables which make up your real estate's sales value.
