Is blockchain headed for the real estate investor market?

Six in ten (61 per cent) property investors expect to see blockchain technology used to buy and sell assets in the medium term, a 9 per cent increase on 2016, according to research carried out by real estate investment platform BrickVest.

In contrast, just 18 per cent of investors do not expect to see the future use of blockchain technology in property transactions, BrickVest's survey found. 

The biggest obstacle to the introduction of blockchain, according to 62 per cent of property investors, is a lack of knowledge and education into the benefits it brings, closely followed by the integration challenges with existing regulatory and legal frameworks (59 per cent). 

Property investors said the biggest benefit to blockchain will be in speeding up the process of buying and selling a property through smart contracts. Investors also expect blockchain to reduce transaction costs.

Rafal Okninski, chief technological officer at BrickVest, says blockchain remains something of a mystery how it will be successfully introduced and widely adopted given the legal and regulatory complexities.

“We believe awareness and support of blockchain as a positive force among real estate investors is rapidly growing. Once it’s introduced, blockchain will revolutionise the market and bring greater transparency to what remains an opaque and old-fashioned sector,” he said.