Manchester-based HS Property Group has recorded the UK’s first residential property sale using blockchain technology.
The company used the Clicktopurchase platform, which facilitates the exchange of electronic contracts, to sell a four-bedroom HMO investment property in Oldham, Greater Manchester.
Blockchain platforms remove the need for a third-party when contracts are exchanged by recording the transaction in an immutable ledger, which is distributed among users. That means everyone in the network has a copy of the details of the transaction – although identities are anonymised – making it transparent and practically impossible to change retrospectively.
Guy Horne, director and co-founder of HS Property Group, said: “The way we currently transact property is anachronistic, protracted and unreliable.
“Using blockchain technology will be the future of property transactions. The speed and transparency it offers will democratise property investment worldwide.
“As a company which prides itself on innovation, we want to offer our global investor network a more straightforward and secure method to purchase residential investments without compromising any legal safeguards.”
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For more on blockchain and what it means for real estate, read EG’s guide to cryptocurrencies.
