Zillow is a popular website that "gives" automated estimates that purport to calculate the value of every home in the United States. Zillow tries to reach this goal this feat by using a complicated program that 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 Google the Internet for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll find many complaints by angry property owners and skeptical home purchasers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Brookfield say 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 sales value. 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. Property owners and real estate shoppers should know that there is not a single neighborhood in Brookfield where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Internet for tax assessment or appraisals. Our professional advice is to take estimates from any computer at arm’s length. Putting too much trust into a website can cause a lot of unnecessary anxiety.

Reach out to one of our agents today for a free comparative market analysis of your property's market value. We promise that a website won't set the value. Instead, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty real estate agent will account for the complicated variables which make up your real estate's sales value.