Can I trust Zillow estimates?

Zillow is a billion-dollar website that "gives" computerized estimates that claim to figure the ideal price of each home in the United States. Zillow tries to accomplish this task by using a complicated logarithm that crossreferences factors which impact real estate values, but here's a story I have heard from real estate sellers in Northern Virginia:

Is Zillow accurate? — Many consumers have serious doubts about the accuracy of Zillow home value estimates.

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 search 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 home shoppers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Snug Harbor 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 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 people. Real estate sellers and home purchasers should know that there is not a single community in Snug Harbor where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert advice is to take estimates from any website at arm’s length. Putting too much stock into a computer can cause a lot of unnecessary anxiety.

Connect with one of our agents today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's market value. We promise that a website won't set the ideal price. Instead, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty real estate agent will measure the many variables which make up your real estate's value.