Blockchain has been the buzzword in recent years with the most attention coming from the world of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, LiteCoin, and the likes. Now, cryptocurrency was indeed in mind when Satoshi Nakamoto invented blockchain but then its benefits have trickled to virtually every other sector. As blockchain promises to change every niche, Christopher Condon (a serial entrepreneur & investor out of Newport Beach), believes real estate will also reap big from this evolution.
Condon is a founder of a Blockchain Based Real Estate Technology Infrastructure Platform and he knows a lot about blockchain adoption in real estate. According to him, Blockchain technology has tons of benefits which present opportunities to real estate, especially in commercial real estate (CRE).
“Blockchain is built on a trustless distributed ledger paradigm where transactions are near real time and secure. This is the kind of technology that will help real estate solve existing issues related to property searches, lease transactions, property operations, cash flow management, data management and others,” says Condon.
How will crypto innovation solve the bottlenecks in real estate? He are a few examples:
Blockchain Property Listings Will Take Over From Traditional Portals
For starters, blockchain will change the way properties are listed in what will be a shift from the traditional Multi Listing Services (MLS) we have been used to. The distributed approach essentially means that the data is democratically shared among stakeholders which also allows the consumer to search and find properties faster at lower costs-including having an access to international listings.
Blockchain will improve decision making
Data is an asset these days and blockchain will definitely give stakeholders in real estate access to more of this priceless commodity. Unlike in the traditional approach, data in a blockchain network is organized and readily available allowing relevant parties such as real estate managers and investors to factor in analytics and make data driven decisions.
Lease Transaction in Real Estate Will Be Smarter
Blockchain will also change the way real estate leases are done. The ‘normal’ approach is time consuming and paper-driven not forgetting the number of parties involved in the process. It is a long financial and legal process that can be reduced by using legally binding smart contracts and consolidating digital transactions in a blockchain platform. This is bound to be not only much faster but cheaper and transparent.
Blockchain Will Improve Property & Cash flow Management
Property management can be hectic particularly when it comes to keeping tabs on ongoing lease agreements, cash flows and other operations. Now, with smart tenancy contracts, transactions will certainly get smoother. For instance, payments to real estate owners, property managers, and other parties can be automated. This and other approaches will cut on the rigorous processes in the realm of managing cash flows and compliance related to the industry
Final Remarks
This is just the tip of the iceberg but Condon thinks the future is already here!
“We are already seeing startups developing blockchain platforms for real estate.The space is already feeling disruption from some cool innovations like blockchain real estate marketplaces, SaaS blockchain platforms, blockchain real estate platforms connecting developers to investors, tokenized real estate investment platforms and others. But, there is more to come in future”.
