Zillow is a popular website that provides "z-estimates" which purport to figure the value of every residence in the United States. Zillow tries to accomplish this task by using a complicated program which crossreferences factors which affect home 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 research the web for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll discover countless complaints by angry property owners and leery real estate buyers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Winds Oakton report that Zillow's valuations 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 market 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 still remains popular with some buyers and sellers. Real estate sellers and property shoppers should know that there is not a single neighborhood in Winds Oakton where either a bank or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our expert advice is to take estimates from any website at arm’s length. Putting too much trust into a computer logarithm can cause a great deal of unnecessary anxiety.

Phone Nesbitt Realty today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's worth. We promise that a computer won't set the sales value. Rather, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty real estate pro will take into account the many variables which make up your home's ideal price.