As crypto-currencies and blockchain ledgers creep more and more into real estate transactions, the more real estate agents are incumbent to learn about them.
Despite being virtual, crypto-currencies play an increasingly growing role in dollar driven economies. For example, when our stock market announces a partnership with a crypto start-up, public and investor interests peak and the value of that crypto-partnership rises.
When a home is acquired with crypto-currencies, there is no need for a bank or “middleman” to be involved…transactional anonymity is preserved through the block chain ledger. Significantly to real estate agents, block chain creates transparency and a secure way to transfer money and data.
One very real negative with crypto-currencies, however, is notorious volatility. Thomas J. Collura, partner with Hodgson Russ’s Estates and Trusts Practice said, “As we’ve seen with Bitcoin in 2017, the value of cryptos can fluctuate wildly. So the amount received for a home purchase may quickly change in value, even over a period of just a few hours…Staying aware of crypto markets…can help future homebuyers to protect themselves against substantial losses that occur before they even look at properties to buy.”
Some global cities now enable crypto-home buying. US cities such as Miami, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles already have active crypto real estate markets due primarily to foreign investors. Crypto-dedicated property search websites such as Bitcoin Real Estate, International Bitcoin Real Estate, Ubiquity and BitPay boast worldwide residential and commercial listings for crypto buyers and sellers.
If you don’t already know about crypto-currencies and block chain technologies, you can begin learning about them for free.
Ben, a crypto chatbot, is useful for learning foundational concepts on a mobile device. There are also MANY free courses on crypto-currencies and block chain technology. Check out these to start:
YouTube for intros to crypto-currencies
Some of these outfits offer certificates of competency, others don’t. There are also face-to-face events but that’s up to you to sniff out where those opportunities are.
Cheers to those of you who choose to expand your mind and real estate opportunities via crypto-currencies and block chain tech.
