Zillow is a popular Internet marketer that "gives" computerized estimates which claim to figure the market value of each and every home in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this task by using a fancy logarithm that crossreferences factors which affect real estate values, but here's a 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 research the web for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll find many posts by angry homeowners and skeptical home buyers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Noble_estates say that Zillow's estimates have a margin of error of about 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 (for now) remains popular with some people. Home sellers and home shoppers should understand that there is not a single community in Noble_estates where either a bank or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert advice is to take estimates from any computer with a grain of salt. Putting too much stock into a website can cause a lot of confusion.

Connect with one of our local experts today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's market value. We promise that a computer won't set the value. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty real estate agent will take into account the unique variables which make up your home's market value.