Zillow is a billion-dollar website that provides automated estimates that purport to calculate the sales value of every property in the United States. Zillow tries to accomplish this feat by using a sophisticated program which crossreferences factors which impact real estate 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 research the Internet for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll find many posts by upset homeowners and skeptical real estate shoppers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Copperfield say that Zillow's estimates 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 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 shoppers should know that there is not a single community in Copperfield where either a bank or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert advice is to take estimates from any online site with a grain of salt. Putting too much stock into a computer logarithm can cause a great deal of irration.

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