Zillow is a billion-dollar Internet marketer that "gives" "z-estimates" which purport to figure the ideal price of every property in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this task by using a fancy logarithm that compares factors which impact 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 web for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll discover many posts 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 Page County claim that Zillow's estimates 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 value. If the margin of error is an unlikley 5% that means that a z-estimate is only within $25,000 of the asking price.

Yet Zillow (for now) remains popular with some buyers and sellers. Home sellers and home buyers should know that there is not a single neighborhood in Page County where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert advice is to take "valuations" from any computer at arm’s length. Putting too much stock into a computer can cause a lot of unnecessary anxiety.

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 ideal price. Instead, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty Realtor will take into account the unique variables which make up your real estate's sales value.