Some cryptocurrency investors are using the surge in value to buy their dream homes
People are bringing cryptocurrency into the housing market, with buyers using it as part of their transaction and sellers accepting payment in bitcoin, according to Redfin.
Redfin has seen cryptocurrency start to become part of the discussion with some clients buying and selling homes over the past three months.
Although the real estate brokerage does not accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment, it said that its agents in several cities – including Boston, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and several cities in California – have had conversations with people about using cryptocurrency as part of the transaction.
A Redfin agent in San Francisco recently assisted a client write an offer on a luxury home in Silicon Valley that was conditioned on the sale of cryptocurrency, while an agent in San Diego had clients who cashed out bitcoins to pay for closing costs on a home.
And the cryptocurrency game is not limited to homebuyers, Redfin said. According to the company, it found 75 listings across the US in which the seller will accept bitcoin as payment. One seller in Miami requested payment exclusively in bitcoin.
“It’s hard to say whether the use of cryptocurrency to buy and sell homes is a long-term trend or just a blip based on the recent spike in value,” Redfin Chief Economist Nela Richardson said. “In some ways, cryptocurrency investors have just won the lottery, and so it makes perfect sense to buy their dream home. On the other side of the ‘coin’, sellers probably wouldn’t accept lottery tickets as payment.”
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Redfin has seen cryptocurrency start to become part of the discussion with some clients buying and selling homes over the past three months.
Although the real estate brokerage does not accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment, it said that its agents in several cities – including Boston, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and several cities in California – have had conversations with people about using cryptocurrency as part of the transaction.
A Redfin agent in San Francisco recently assisted a client write an offer on a luxury home in Silicon Valley that was conditioned on the sale of cryptocurrency, while an agent in San Diego had clients who cashed out bitcoins to pay for closing costs on a home.
And the cryptocurrency game is not limited to homebuyers, Redfin said. According to the company, it found 75 listings across the US in which the seller will accept bitcoin as payment. One seller in Miami requested payment exclusively in bitcoin.
“It’s hard to say whether the use of cryptocurrency to buy and sell homes is a long-term trend or just a blip based on the recent spike in value,” Redfin Chief Economist Nela Richardson said. “In some ways, cryptocurrency investors have just won the lottery, and so it makes perfect sense to buy their dream home. On the other side of the ‘coin’, sellers probably wouldn’t accept lottery tickets as payment.”
Related stories:
The next trend in real estate – Bitcoin-like purchases?
New York start-up claims world first for real estate investment
