Zillow is a billion-dollar website that provides automated estimates that purport to figure the value of each property in the United States. Zillow tries to reach this goal this task by using a complicated logarithm which crossreferences factors which alter 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 search the web for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll discover many complaints by angry homeowners and leery home shoppers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Fairfax County report 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 sales value. If the margin of error is an astounding 5% that means that a z-estimate is only within $25,000 of the asking price.

Yet Zillow (for now) remains popular with some real estate shoppers. Home sellers and property purchasers should understand that there is not a single community in Fairfax County where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Zillow for tax assessment or appraisals. Our professional advice is to take "valuations" from any computer with a grain of salt. Putting too much trust into a website can cause a lot of irration.

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