Zillow is a popular website that provides automated estimates which claim to figure the value of every home in the United States. Zillow tries to reach this goal this task by using a fancy logarithm that compares 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 Google the web for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll find many testimonials by angry property owners and leery real estate shoppers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Battery Heights claim 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 sales 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 buyers and sellers. Real estate sellers and real estate purchasers should understand that there is not a single community in Battery Heights where either a bank or tax collector uses Zillow for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert advice is to take estimates from any computer with a grain of salt. Putting too much trust into a computer logarithm can cause a great deal of irration.

Talk to us today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's market value. We promise that a computer won't set the market value. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty real estate agent will take into account the many variables which make up your real estate's market value.