Zillow is a popular Internet marketer that "gives" automated estimates that claim to figure the ideal price of every residence in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this feat by using a complicated logarithm that crossreferences factors which impact real estate 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 skeptical real estate shoppers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Long Ridge Estates 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 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 real estate buyers should understand that there is not a single community in Long Ridge Estates where either a bank or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert advice is to take "valuations" from any website at arm’s length. Putting too much stock into a computer logarithm can cause a lot of disappointment.

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