Philadelphia launches apartment that accepts Bitcoin payments

Philadelphia’s first apartment that can be purchased with Bitcoin will open for viewing today in the city’s historic Manayunk neighborhood. Veteran Philadelphia real estate agent Susanna Kunkel is selling the apartment for Bitcoin in an effort to attract the tech-savvy, entrepreneur-driven buyers that are so important to the modern urban apartment industry.

The four apartments from Falcon Condominiums range in interior space from 2,024 to 2,293 square feet. The initial asking price for each apartment is 795 bitcoins.

Manayunk is a historic neighborhood in the United States of America with renovated Victorian-era storefronts such as King of Prussia , Chestnut Hill , and The Main Line , just a 15-minute drive from downtown Philadelphia.

Entering new areas

"I'm really dipping my toes into new territory," Kunkel told CNN. "I don't think (bitcoin) has become an option in the tech industry. There are more and more creative startups in Philadelphia. As a real estate agent, I need to be exposed to different industries and their dynamics."

The newly built apartments on the site of the former Polish Club have been on the market for a year. Kunkel only recently came up with the idea to sell four of the apartments for Bitcoin and pitched the idea to the property owners, who turned out to be enthusiastic about the idea.

Kunkel said the four apartments are perfect for a buyer using Bitcoin. They are flexible enough to be used for work or as a meeting area for 10 to 15 people . Kunkel's envisioned buyer is an entrepreneur who doesn't want to work from home.

She said there have been private condo sales in Philadelphia for bitcoin, but this will be the first time a publicly listed property has been sold. “This is the first mainstream, full-service real estate transaction with bitcoin,” she added.

Kunkel promoted the sale on her blog and social media. Articles about the sale appeared on Phillymag.com and Philadelphia Magazine on Sunday. As of press time, Kunkel said she had received inquiries but no offers.

The price of Bitcoin is correlated with the price of the U.S. dollar

The properties are listed on phillyliving.com , and the multiple listing service does not drive the price of Bitcoin, only the price of U.S. dollars. The prices of the four apartments range from $ 365,000 to $395,000. If the buyer bids in Bitcoin, the total amount of Bitcoin will be based on the Bitcoin to U.S. dollar exchange rate at the time of the bid. Therefore, when the transaction is closed based on the exchange rate that can change at any time, the Bitcoin amount may need to be adjusted.

“Sellers are not going to take the risk of bitcoin’s (price) volatility,” Kunkel said.

To complete the transfer of ownership, the transaction funds are held in escrow, so the party holding the funds must be willing to accept Bitcoin. Kunkel's blog directs potential buyers to receive instructions from World Wide Land Transfer , a title company that can solve this problem .

During the transfer of ownership, the buyer's money is usually held in escrow with a title insurance company, except in states like New York where the buyer's attorney or the bank's attorney usually holds the escrow. Either way, the escrow party will eventually transfer the buyer's money to the seller, and creditors will receive the money if appropriate, and the government's deed registrar and tax agency will take over the money if there are taxes to pay. Buyers can only pay with Bitcoin if the title insurer or attorney holding the funds is willing to complete the transaction in Bitcoin.

Whether real estate agents receive their commissions in Bitcoin will be determined by the real estate agents themselves and the sellers.

Real estate industry accepts Bitcoin

The sale in Philadelphia reflects the growing use of Bitcoin in the real estate industry.

Bond New York, a New York-based brokerage, has accepted Bitcoin as a payment method for its real estate transactions, World Wide Land Transfer wrote on its website. Noah Freedman, co-founder of the brokerage , said Bitcoin allows customers to transfer funds conveniently and cheaply. He believes that reduced or non-existent transaction fees are the main benefits of using Bitcoin.

Ragnar Lifthrasir , head of the International Bitcoin Real Estate Association, echoed this view in a recent article published by Opp.Today. Lifthrasir said that blockchain is positioned to improve real estate accounting options. He also said that Bitcoin can turn real estate into a liquid asset, in addition to eliminating fraud, reducing costs, shortening transaction times, enhancing financial privacy, promoting the democratization of transactions and the internationalization of markets, and re-emphasizing net asset value.

Open houses in Philadelphia are scheduled for Sunday, January 17 and January 31, from 1 to 3 p.m.