Property lending ripe for blockchain take-up
THE MAJORITY of property investors expect to see blockchain transform the industry in the near future, according to a new report.
The research from peer-to-peer real estate platform BrickVest shows that 61 per cent of investors expect to see blockchain technology used to buy and sell assets.
The majority of investors believe that they will see the first property lease contracts based on blockchain technology by 2022, but 25 per cent of investors have predicted that it will happen as early as 2020.
“When it comes to the eventual use of blockchain in property deals, most real estate investors now see it as ‘when’ rather than ‘if’,” said Rafal Okninski, chief technological officer at BrickVest.
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“There has been a lot of publicity about blockchain in the past two years so it’s no surprise that more investors expect to see its usage but for many in the industry it remains something of a mystery how it will be successfully introduced and widely adopted given the legal and regulatory complexities.”
A lack of knowledge about the benefits of blockchain remains one of the biggest stumbling blocks to its introduction, according to the report.
Investors believe that blockchain will bring benefits that include speeding up property transactions as well as reducing fraud and cutting costs.
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However, 41 per cent of investors cited opposition by financial gatekeepers such as notaries and trustees for slowing its take-up.
“We believe awareness and support of blockchain as a positive force among real estate investors is rapidly growing,” said Okninski.
“Once it’s introduced, blockchain will revolutionise the market and bring greater transparency to what remains an opaque and old-fashioned sector.”
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