Can I rely on Zillow to appraise the sales price of my property in Nicneil Subdivision?
Zillow is a billion-dollar website that "gives" computerized estimates that purport to calculate the sales value of every home in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this task by using a complicated logarithm that compares factors which impact home values, but here's a typical 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 many complaints by angry property owners and skeptical home buyers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Nicneil Subdivision say that Zillow's estimates 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 sales 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 still remains popular with some people. Home sellers and home shoppers should know that there is not a single neighborhood in Nicneil Subdivision where either a bank or tax collector uses Zillow for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert advice is to take "valuations" from any website with a grain of salt. Putting too much trust into a computer can cause a great deal of unnecessary anxiety.
Phone one of our agents today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's value. We promise that a computer won't set the sales value. Instead, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty expert will take into account the many variables which make up your home's value.
