Can I depend on Zillow to figure out the market value of my property in Trevor House?
Zillow is a billion-dollar website that provides computerized estimates which purport to calculate the value of every home in the United States. Zillow tries to accomplish this task by using a sophisticated logarithm which crossreferences factors which impact property values, but here's a typical 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 posts by angry homeowners and skeptical property buyers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Trevor House say that Zillow's valuations 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 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 buyers and sellers. Real estate sellers and real estate purchasers should understand that there is not a single neighborhood in Trevor House where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Zillow for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert advice is to take estimates from any website with a grain of salt. Putting too much trust into a computer logarithm can cause a great deal of disappointment.
Contact one of our agents today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's worth. We promise that a computer won't set the sales value. Instead, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty real estate pro will account for the complicated variables which make up your real estate's sales value.
