Can I depend on a computer to figure out the market value of my home in Rolling Valley?
Zillow is a billion-dollar website that provides automated estimates that claim to figure the value of every property in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this task by using a fancy logarithm that crossreferences factors which affect property 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 countless testimonials by angry homeowners and skeptical home shoppers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Rolling Valley report that Zillow's valuations have a margin of error of approximately 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 sales value. If the margin of error is an astounding 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 real estate shoppers should know that there is not a single neighborhood in Rolling Valley 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 lot of disappointment.
Contact one of our local experts today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's worth. We promise that a computer won't set the sales value. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty Realtor will account for the complicated variables which make up your real estate's ideal price.
