Blockchain technology has already made inroads into several industries and Real estate is the latest sector where it can be a huge game-changer.
Read this technology guest post to know more about blockchain’’s influence in Real estate.
What is Blockchain technology?
It refers to recording information on an immutable distributed ledger that is immune to manipulation and hacking attacks. It maintains a high level of anonymity, is completely programmable, secure, and time-stamped. There will be a chain of blocks in which data will be stored. Transactions can be processed in a decentralized manner without the presence of any intermediaries.
Some of the different ways in which Blockchain is altering the Real estate industry forever
- Transactions involved in buying a property are made faster for buyers and sellers.
- Blockchain technology helps to eliminate the role of several intermediaries like brokers, agents, banks, lawyers, and financial institutions from the process. The smart contracts automatically take care of property listings, legal documentation, and the execution of payments.
- Through real estate tokenization, even small investors can purchase digital tokens in multiple properties and get the benefits of fractional ownership.
- It brings more liquidity to the industry as profitable deals can be executed on a real-time basis without facing any delays.
- It ensures a higher level of transparency as all the transactions and other information are recorded on the immutable blockchain network. This creates more trust and confidence in the minds of property buyers and sellers.
The current status of Blockchain technology in the global Real estate industry
- Covid-19 has led to the acceleration in the digitization of various processes.
- Blockchain-based transactions are immune to hacking and phishing attacks.
- If the sentiment in the housing market improves with more ambitious and productive development of Real estate, blockchain technology will witness more adoption in the future.
- Many governments across the world have been digitizing the land records and title deeds on secure blockchain networks. They are highly resistant to any kind of fraud or manipulation of data.
- The participants in the market can access accurate information on a real-time basis and this leads to better streamlining of different processes involved in buying a property.
- Smart contracts that act as self-executing programs based on predetermined terms and conditions can store details of the rental agreement on the blockchain to enable timely payments of rent by the tenant to the owner of the property.
- It can change various aspects like property search, due diligence, financial evaluation, data storage, property management, reviewing documents, title management, and maintenance of payments systems.
- It is fairly still at an experimental stage and needs more technical innovation to enter the mainstream economy.
The platforms that act as the pioneer of Blockchain in Real estate
- ManageGo, provides a seamless property management software that takes care of scheduling, online rent payments, leasing, and maintenance of the real estate. Property owners benefit from a better relationship with tenants by using this platform.
- SmartRealty, a company based in Seattle uses smart contracts to automate rental agreements, property purchases, mortgages, and settlement of transactions. It offers RLTY tokens to prospective investors and is trading on the leading cryptocurrency exchanges like IDEX and EtherDelta.
- REASI acts as a clearance platform to ensure the glitch-free settlement of funds involved in real estate transactions. It uses the escrow system to completely eliminate the role of third parties.
- StreetWire provides an end-to-end encrypted digital ledger that provides a highly secure and transparent transaction solution. It is used widely by brokers, property appraisers, and financial institutions.
- Slice assists small investors to purchase their desired property by utilizing distributed ledger technology. They offer a security token that provides high liquidity and easy access. They aim to democratize real estate investment to ensure equal opportunities are available for everyone in the system.
- Beenest is a home-sharing platform similar to Airbnb but powered by blockchain technology. Homeowners can rent out their full property to tenants in exchange for cryptocurrencies. It launched a utility token named the Bee Token in 2018 through an ICO. They are aiming to target guests who want to find comfortable accommodations for their stay.
- NetObjex, is a digital platform that uses blockchain technology to track the performance of real estate assets. Real-time tracing of property is done by using the Internet of Things (IoT). They provide an exclusive analytics dashboard.
- CPROP establishes different data applications built on blockchain technology. They take care of brokerage, transaction processing, property management, investment management, rendering insurance, and issuing real estate backed tokens.
- Imbrex is a global decentralized real estate marketplace built on the Ethereum blockchain network. They provide digital tokens for connecting the property buyers directly with listing agents. They use a peer to peer distribution protocol known as an interplanetary file system for sharing data on a real-time basis. No third parties are present on the platform. Their solutions are mainly utilized by brokerage firms and portfolio managers.
As seen above, Blockchain technology is here to stay in the industry for a long time as it can result in a lot of positive transformation. The use-cases for Blockchain will massively increase in the future and it will solve principal-agent problems and maintain a greater level of transparency. The main challengers are in the acceptance of the technology, implementation, and regulatory uncertainty. Further development is needed to make it suitable for the mass market through practically usable applications. Intensive research by technical experts is being done to make full use of its massive potential.
