Zillow is a billion-dollar website that provides computerized estimates which purport to calculate the ideal price of every home in the United States. Zillow tries to accomplish this task by using a sophisticated program which crossreferences factors which alter home 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 Google the Internet for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll find many posts by angry property owners and skeptical real estate purchasers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Munson Hill Farm 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 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 real estate shoppers. Home sellers and home purchasers should understand that there is not a single community in Munson Hill Farm 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 computer logarithm can cause a lot of unnecessary anxiety.

Get in touch with us today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's worth. We promise that a computer won't set the market value. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty real estate agent will account for the complicated variables which make up your property's ideal price.