Can I rely on some Internet company to figure out the sales price of my home in Pimmit Hills?
Zillow is a billion-dollar website that "gives" "z-estimates" which purport to calculate the ideal price of each residence in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this task by using a fancy program that compares factors which alter real estate values, but here's a 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 Google the Internet for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll find many testimonials by upset homeowners and skeptical home purchasers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Pimmit Hills 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 impressive 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 buyers should understand that there is not a single neighborhood in Pimmit Hills where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert 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 confusion.
Reach out to 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 value. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty Realtor will take into account the many variables which make up your property's value.
