Category: Real Estate

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Bitcoin Crypto News Ethereum Real Estate

$8 Million Brisbane Mega Mansion Accepting Crypto Buyers

Two Brisbane property developers will accept digital currency as payment for a mansion to be built by their company in the city’s affluent inner north.

Brothers Rob and Andrew Gray of Graya have revealed renders of the lavish new trophy home they are building on Hamilton Hill, overlooking the Brisbane River.

Interior render of Scorpia, Hamilton Hill, Brisbane. Source: Graya/realestate.com

The Spanish-Greek styled home, dubbed Scorpia, will be built on Prospect Terrace next door to Larc, another Graya-designed mansion that sold off the plan last year for more than A$8 million.

Exterior render of Scorpia, Hamilton Hill, Brisbane. Source: Graya/realestate.com

According to Graya managing director Andrew Gray, prospective buyers can purchase the home using whatever their preferred mode of payment, but he says offering the alternative of cryptocurrency will open up the property to a wider market.

We want to market this property to all buyers, and many younger investors have a lot of their wealth tied up with cryptocurrency. Why limit the property’s selling potential? Bitcoin and ethereum have become reliable forms of investment and there is a whole market of buyers out there who are asset-rich in the crypto space. These are the buyers we want to connect with.

Andrew Gray, Graya

Real Estate Owners Are Increasingly Accepting Crypto

Gray offered the example of Miami, Florida as a market that has thrived since local real estate companies began accepting crypto as payment. “There are currently 16 oceanfront properties for sale in Miami that are accepting bitcoin and ethereum as payment. It’s only a matter of time until this becomes commonplace in Australia.”

Recently published Realtor.com data indicates that the number of people selling property for crypto assets is on the rise, with 14.3 crypto-accepting listings per 100,000 homes currently in the company’s database, up from 12.7 per 100,000 since 2018.

Last month, Crypto News Australia reported on the first-ever bitcoin-backed real estate refinance loan. And in April, American businessman and real estate manager Rick Caruso announced his company would allow tenants to rent his properties with bitcoin. Caruso Properties partnered with cryptocurrency exchange Gemini to handle all of its crypto payment operations and invested one percent of its treasury in bitcoin as a show of good faith.

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Bitcoin Crypto News Real Estate

First-Ever Bitcoin-Backed Real Estate Refinance Loan Completed

Glen Oaks Escrow has made its first bitcoin-backed refinance loan for a property in San Diego, US. The Californian company is excited about the future of crypto in the real estate industry with the increase of firms accepting crypto.

Having previously only facilitated transactions where the buyer uses bitcoin as payment, the company is excited about the growing use of cryptocurrency in the real estate industry.

Seeing a lender use cryptocurrency for a refinance shows us that this payment method is continuing to grow in how it’s used and who it’s used by.

Joe Curtis, COO, Glen Oaks Escrow

In Australia, some individuals have used cryptocurrencies to pay off their mortgage or to put down a deposit, and some have even put their houses up for bitcoin.

Bitcoin’s Future in Real Estate

Glen Oaks Escrow began accepting bitcoin as payment in 2018 and since then has facilitated a number of transactions.

Seeing someone other than the homebuyer use bitcoin in a real estate transaction tells us that this technology has the potential to continue becoming more prominent […] We look forward to supporting many more cryptocurrency transactions in the future and are very proud that we’ve pioneered the way to implement the systems and processes that allow us to accept it,

Joe Curtis, COO, Glen Oaks Escrow

A bitcoin-backed loan is similar to any other loan, except you can borrow cryptocurrency and use your existing bitcoin as collateral. For more on how it’s done, Binance also has facilities that allow for crypto loans.

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Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrency Tax Investing Real Estate

Australian SMSFs Turn Away from Cryptocurrency in Favor of Property Market

Australian self managed super funds have taken a step away from cryptocurrency investments over the last quarter, with property investments once again taking pole position as the number one most popular asset for Australian retirement planning.

The most recent bulletin on SMSF activity published by the ATO indicates that investors are more interested in both commercial and residential property, with an 11 percent increase in property assets held by self-managed super funds over the last 12 months. 

The ATO has only recently begun tracking the rate at which self managed super fund holders invest in cryptocurrency, adding the crypto label to the SMSF statistical report to the 2019 SMSF annual return. The data provided by the report, however, reveals an impressive amount of capital directed towards the cryptocurrency market by SMSF holders.

Australian SMSFs currently invest $137 million in the cryptocurrency market. The total amount of SMSF capital invested in crypto has fallen over the last quarter from $142 million, but represents a significant amount of confidence in the relatively volatile crypto market when compared to traditional asset classes.

Younger Generation Actively Investing in Cryptocurrency SMSFs

While cryptocurrency remains a popular asset for SMSFs, a return to property investments has seen residential property assets held by SMSFs increasing by 11 percent to $39 billion, with commercial property assets increasing by 9 percent to $73 billion.

Asset distribution data published by the ATO reveals that the SMSFs valued at less than $50,000 hold the greatest percentage of cryptocurrency investments, reflecting the relative popularity of cryptocurrency investments with younger investors and SMSF holders.

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Australia Blockchain Industries Real Estate

Power Ledger Blockchain-Powered Green Housing, Coming To A City Near You

Aussie blockchain firm Power Ledger and Perth-based real estate developer OP Properties have joined forces to build one of the first carbon-neutral apartment complexes in Australia.

Power Ledger – a firm that specializes in renewable energy and other environmental commodities – has already been a part of multiple green energy projects around the world. In Thailand, their partnership with Thai Digital Energy Development has led to the development of carbon-neutral infrastructure and better accounting for energy and environmental commodities.

In France, Power Ledger ekWateur and renewable energy supplier ekWateur teamed up to develop a blockchain-based energy trading platform. Power Ledger has also executed projects in the U.S.A., India, Japan, and are always open to new collaborations – such as this one on the home turf.

Blockchain, Reduced Maintenance, and Ecology

The five-story apartment building will be called Montreal Commons – and will consist of 39 apartments and a café. In order to be truly carbon-neutral, it will use rooftop solar panels and local battery storage provided by  OP Properties.

OP Director Luke Parker has stated that as the developer, they will handle the full cost of installing the solar system on the roof of the complex. The installation ownership will be transferred to the management company responsible for the property instead of splitting it up between tenants.

In case of electrical insufficiency, these can be topped up through green energy from electricity retailer Change Energy.

If, on the other hand, any excess solar electricity is generated, it can be stored in on-site batteries and sold by the tenants via Power Ledger’s blockchain-based energy trading platform. Power Ledger receiving a $2.5 million grant from the Australian Government and has won Sir Richard Branson’s Extreme Tech Challenge award.

Coupled with TYMLEZ’s recent project in New South Wales, we can expect to see more and more eco-friendly complexes pop up and ensure the protection of Australia’s beautiful wildlife.

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Australia Bitcoin Real Estate

Bitcoin Reenters Aussie Real Estate Market: Melbourne Property Goes on Sale for 70 BTC

A Victorian man has taken a bullish stance on the near future of Bitcoin — placing his Melbourne property on the property market for a quote of 67-73 BTC.

The Aussie property owner is offering a Reservoir house for a price that, at late July to August 2020 Bitcoin values, would see the property sold for between $850,000 to $950,000. Announced in a highlight published in the Herald Sun by Samantha Landy, the four-bedroom house, complete with a four car garage, pool, and “man cave” has been placed on the market by a vendor that considers Bitcoin “better than cash”

In an interview with the Herald Sun, the homeowner stated the opinion that now is a great time to accumulate Bitcoin:

“Bitcoin, tomorrow, could jump to $20,000. There is no other better asset class that has outperformed Bitcoin in the last 10 years”

Australian Bitcoin Real Estate Action Hints Toward 2017 Bull Run Repeat

Australia has maintained a crypto-friendly regulatory stance regarding the sale of property for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency assets. An Australian property sold in 2019 was the first property in the world to go under the hammer in first-ever cryptocurrency real estate auction.

The auctioned house sold for a massive 457 Bitcoin, amounting to over $2.4 million at April 2019 prices.

The increased adoption of Bitcoin in the real estate market hints at increasing trust in the digital asset. The recent surge in property sales focused on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies follows trends expressed in mid 2017, with market action hinting toward a repetition of the 2017 Bitcoin all-time high of $20,000.