Can I rely on some Internet company to appraise the market value of my real estate in Parkplace?
Zillow is a popular Internet marketer that "gives" automated estimates that purport to calculate the value of each and every property in the United States. Zillow tries to accomplish this task by using a fancy program that crossreferences factors which impact real estate values, but here's a story I have heard from real estate 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 search the Internet for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll find many posts by angry homeowners and skeptical real estate buyers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Parkplace 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 ideal price. If the margin of error is an impressive 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 property shoppers should know that there is not a single community in Parkplace where either a bank or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our professional advice is to take estimates from any online site with a grain of salt. Putting too much trust into a computer logarithm can cause a lot of irration.
Connect with 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 market value. Instead, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty expert will measure the complicated variables which make up your home's market value.
