Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
By using online cryptocurrency technologies like tokens and blockchains, people could participate in real estate transactions that are too unwieldy in the analog world. Soon, these technologies may let anyone with a few thousand dollars play tycoon and buy a part of a condo or iconic building.
NFTs, or non-fungible tokens—digital certificates that convey exclusive rights to something—is a new concept being applied to real estate, supporters say they will become standard in the industry.
“The NFT operates in many respects exactly like a deed would in real estate transactions,” said Josh Morton, a Real Estate special counsel at Pillsbury. “What a deed ordinarily does is give evidence of ownership to a piece of property.”
A deed provides three things, according to Morton: proof of ownership, contractual terms about what can be done with it, and a basis for buying and selling. An NFT could wrap them all up in a single package with an online bow, ready for buyers.
As with other aspects of real estate, transactions are typically done through brokers. If potential buyers aren’t connected to the right people, they don’t hear about the opportunities. The additional value NFTs can bring, making properties more easily to find online, is “doing something old in a very new way,” Morton added.
Read the full article in Fortune.