Zillow is a billion-dollar website that "gives" "z-estimates" that claim to calculate the ideal price of each and every home in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this feat by using a sophisticated program that crossreferences factors which affect home values, but here's a story I have heard from real estate 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 web for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll find many testimonials by angry property owners and leery property purchasers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Megills_crossing 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 market 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 still remains popular with some buyers and sellers. Home sellers and real estate shoppers should know that there is not a single community in Megills_crossing where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Internet 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 website can cause a lot of unnecessary anxiety.

Contact us today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's worth. We promise that a website won't set the sales value. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty Realtor will take into account the many variables which make up your property's value.