Zillow is a popular Internet marketer that "gives" automated estimates that purport to figure the sales value of each home in the United States. Zillow tries to reach this goal this task by using a fancy logarithm which compares factors which alter property 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 countless complaints by upset homeowners and leery real estate buyers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Metes Bounds say 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 market 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 people. Home sellers and home buyers should know that there is not a single neighborhood in Metes Bounds where either a bank or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our professional advice is to take "valuations" from any website with a grain of salt. Putting too much stock into a website can cause a great deal of disappointment.

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