Mister Piso, a real estate company based in Barcelona, has sold the first property for Bitcoin. The company hopes that increased use of cryptocurrencies could accelerate sales and revitalize the real estate sector.
The basic advantage of cryptocurrencies is the circumvention of middlemen such as banks and other regulators. Thus, they also offer themselves in the real estate sector as a simplistic means of payment: Both buyers and sellers can trade directly with each other without the influence of banks and the additional payment claims they collect.
Home sweet home for 40 Bitcoin
The apartment in the province of Tarragona in southern Catalonia was sold for 40 Bitcoin. At the current price of 9,711.95 euros (as of 19 January), the price would therefore be 388,478 euros. In mid-December, the buyer would have had to dig deeper into his pocket: almost 600,000 euros would have gone in the course of the last all-time highs on the table. Mr. Piso is aware of the risk he takes by accepting crypto payments. The price of a property can fluctuate significantly in a short time. It should be remembered, however, that in the past year just in Bitcoin an incredible increase in value of 1,500% has taken place.
After the property had been on the market for five years, the real estate agent suggested accepting Bitcoin as a means of payment. This should allow the apartment to hold a high value in relation to its original price and to sell quickly.
Gerard Platero, Managing Director of the Tarragona subsidiary, explained the decision:
“It’s a much cleaner transaction and you do not have to have instant cash available, you can have this Bitcoin wallet and have something that is not tangible. If I see an apartment and I like it, instead of having to pay and sign and go to a notary, I can do the transaction very quickly at the moment, according to the value of Bitcoin, and all parties are happy. ”
According to regional media Mister Piso is already offering a second property for Bitcoin. Despite all the crypto-euphoria at the real estate company, the payment with Bitcoin is not yet mentioned on the otherwise very informative website.
