Zillow is a billion-dollar website that "gives" automated estimates that purport to calculate the sales value of each residence in the United States. Zillow tries to achieve this this feat by using a sophisticated program that crossreferences factors which affect property values, but here's a 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 search the Internet for the phrase "Can I trust Zillow?" or "Can I trust Z-Estimates" you'll discover many posts by upset property owners and skeptical property buyers who have discovered the hard way just out inaccurate Zillow's pricing can be. Many people in Vienna claim 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 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 buyers and sellers. Home sellers and property shoppers should understand that there is not a single community in Vienna where either a mortgage lender or tax collector uses Zillow for tax assessment or appraisals. Our professional advice is to take estimates from any website at arm’s length. Putting too much trust into a website can cause a lot of disappointment.

Get in touch with 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. Instead, your friendly neighborhood Nesbitt Realty real estate agent will take into account the complicated variables which make up your home's market value.