Realty reality! Estate transactions are now entering the blockchain era

The world’s first international real estate platform – Propy – has executed the first two real estate transactions on the blockchain in history.

“With Propy’s transaction platform, every step of the deal was executed via Ethereum smart contracts, making this the first comprehensive blockchain-recorded property deal in the state of California and only the second in the world,” says the firm.

The first sale of property on the open ledger technology took place a few months ago in the northeastern US state of Vermont.

“The cross-border transaction (out of California) happened remotely using cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, BTC) as the means of payment, thus eliminating the need for banks and eradicating geographical limitations usually tied to traditional deals,” reads the Propy newsletter.

The real estate firm explains that “Kate Fomina, a California licensed realtor, represented both Luke Carriere (the buyer) and Diana Dominguez (the seller). When the transaction began, Fomina was located in Hong Kong, Carriere was in New York, Dominguez was in Northern California, and the escrow agent was in the San Francisco Bay Area”.

Propy states that use of Ethereum-based smart contracts guarantees that the flow of transactions is carried out in full compliance with regional regulations and completely secure. It adds that all sales executed on its platform are legally binding.

“We believe that blockchain technology can truly revolutionise the real estate purchasing process and the management of public records,” says Propy CEO Natalia Karayaneva.

Propy advertises a number of properties on its website that can be fully purchased with Bitcoin (BTC).