Acceptance Of Cryptocurrency Payments In The Housing Market Continues To Increase

Cryptocurrency payments for real estate are taking off, according to Upnest.com. And it’s not just bitcoin.

Real-estate developer, Harbor Custom Development, will start accepting cryptocurrency payments for its developments, starting Jan. 24, 2022. The company will accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDC, XRP, DOGE, SHIB, Binance USD, Wrapped BTC, Litecoin, Dai, Bitcoin Cash, Pax Dollar, and Gemini Dollar. Before the launch date, the company may add or remove cryptocurrencies from the list.

They will accept cryptocurrency for various real-estate types, including condominiums, apartments, residential homes, developed lots, and listed land. The company does work in Puget Sound, Sacramento, California, Austin, Texas, and Punta Gorda, Florida. All deals will ultimately be settled in dollars.

Optimism on crypto use

The CEO is optimistic about this move and believes that they have a first-mover advantage.”…Our clear objective is to drive shareholder value while acting as a thought leader within our industry group.” The Chief Operating Officer of Harbor Custom Development said that accepting cryptocurrency “separates us from our industry peers.”

New crypto craze in real estate

According to San Francisco-based Upnest.com, cryptocurrency real-estate purchases have been growing in the industry. Real-estate agents have been using bitcoin in different ways on real-estate listings. Some sellers are looking only for bitcoin, while others are accepting a combination of bitcoin and cash. Also noted by the San Francisco-based company is the trend for expensive properties to become ways for people to protect themselves from bitcoin’s volatility by converting their crypto into physical assets.

A company called Expedia.com, which operates similarly to Airbnb, accepts bitcoins and may be attractive to holders of small amounts of cryptocurrency.

Scammers with no real-estate experience pose a threat to potential buyers, as well as the prospect of new regulations. Upnest.com reports some advantages to buying property with cryptocurrency, such as [reducing] the cost of property transactions, reducing the tax on transfer of property, and combining the flexibility of digital payments with the security of brick-and-mortar assets.

Magnum Real Estate recently accepted $29M in bitcoin as payment for a three-store retail condominium space in Manhattan. This was the first significant income-generating BTC investment opportunity in the U.S. This was made possible by Bitpay, who received the bitcoin payment on behalf of Magnum, and converted it into USD for payment into Magnum’s account. Prior to the Magnum transaction, a 5067 square-foot Miami penthouse attracted a $22.5M purchase.