Zillow is a popular website that provides "z-estimates" that purport to figure the sales value of every residence in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this feat by using a complicated logarithm which compares factors which impact real estate values, but here's a typical 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 Internet for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll find many testimonials by angry property owners and skeptical home buyers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Walden_at_burke_centre report 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 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 buyers and sellers. Real estate sellers and real estate purchasers should know that there is not a single community in Walden_at_burke_centre where either a bank or tax collector uses Zillow for tax assessment or appraisals. Our professional advice is to take "valuations" from any online site with a grain of salt. Putting too much stock into a website can cause a great deal of confusion.

Email one of our local experts today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's market value. We promise that a website won't set the market value. Instead, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty Realtor will account for the unique variables which make up your real estate's market value.