From National Association of Realtors
If your client isn’t ready to throw down cash for that new house, maybe he or she can dig deep for some … bitcoins?
According to The Wall Street Journal, a seller on Long Island has promised to accept the virtual currency as valid payment for a new home.
The seller is asking nearly $800,000 — or that value in bitcoins — for a four-bedroom, ranch-style home first listed in October.
Bitcoin is a digital currency introduced in 2009 that is not backed by a central bank or government. The currency can be traded online through unregulated Internet exchanges.
Since a bank isn’t involved, using bitcoins can have fewer fees than traditional transactions.
But bitcoin prices fluctuate daily, and likely would be determined by the average exchange rate on the day of closing. The value has fluctuated drastically over the past year, ranging from $13 to $1,200. And some monetary authorities have been cautioning against using bitcoins, saying they’re vulnerable to uses for criminal activity and money laundering.
Still, the growing popularity of the digital currency has been raising questions about whether it will become the norm in real estate transactions. Philipp Preuss, the seller of the Hamptons home, says he believes in the longevity of the bitcoin and says accepting the currency will help open up options.