As agents and brokers, we always have to be prepared for the next innovation to emerge on the real estate landscape, and bitcoin, for all of its pros and cons, could be the next wave.
In fact, the owner of a 9,000-square-foot Malibu, Calif., home is willing to accept bitcoin as part of the payment.
According to a CNBC report, the purchase of brick-and-mortar real estate might take some of the volatility out of a cryptocurrency investment. Dr. Wei Tzuoh Chen is putting his home on the market for $45 million.
“I’m not saying it’s safe. I’m just willing to take the risk for investment.”
The home was designed by architect Ed Niles with angles jut out in every direction, most of the walls are windows, and a catwalk crosses the two-story entry foyer connecting the upstairs bedrooms.
Chen, a kidney specialist who has lived in the United States since the 1970s, says he is fascinated with cryptocurrencies and considers them to be just as legitimate as a dollar, pound or yen.
“I’ve been interested since it started, and I’m always watching what’s going on. It’s going to be the future. It just depends which one is going to be stabilized in the current market.”
Chen is also quite pragmatic about the benefits of accepting a currency that is largely unregulated.
“According to current situation, if you buy the property with cryptocurrency, it’s difficult to identify the cost of the real estate because it fluctuates so much. The government will have a hard time to tax or put a property value on the house you are going to sell.”
