Can I rely on some Internet company to appraise the sales price of my real estate in Cardinal_forest?
Zillow is a billion-dollar Internet marketer that provides computerized estimates which claim to calculate the value of each home in the United States. Zillow tries to reach this goal this task by using a complicated program which crossreferences factors which impact home values, but here's a 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 research the web for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll find countless complaints by upset property owners and skeptical home shoppers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Cardinal_forest report 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 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 real estate shoppers. Home sellers and property shoppers should know that there is not a single neighborhood in Cardinal_forest 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 reliance into a computer can cause a great deal of unnecessary anxiety.
Contact one of our agents today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's value. We promise that a website won't set the market value. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty Realtor will take into account the complicated variables which make up your home's ideal price.
