Exotic Indonesian villa is first major Bitcoin real estate purchase | Katonah Real Estate

HousingWire has been on the forefront of covering Bitcoin in relation to real estate.

The March issue of our print magazine includes a story on the first real estate and real estate financial firms in North America to accept Bitcoin for everything from broker fees to actual investment.

The watershed moment for real estate may have come in early February, when the nascent startup RealtyShares in San Francisco announced it would be the first, as far as anyone can know, real estate investment firm to accept Bitcoin for its crowdfunding real estate investment platform.

Now comes word from Southeast Asia that the first major Bitcoin real estate transaction – valued at more than $500,000 – has closed. The property? A fully managed villa at the deLMango Villa Estate in Bali, Indonesia.

Notably, this may be the largest reported Bitcoin transaction yet. Moreover, it’s not the only high-priced property being shopped among Bitcoin users. The website that facilitated the transaction is currently listing a Paris property with a view of the Eiffel Tower listed for $6.3 million, among other items.

According to CoinDesk:

BitPremier founder and CEO Alan Silbert indicates that the 3,000-square-foot villa sold for more than $500,000, though the exact price paid by the buyer was not revealed.

Silbert, brother of SecondMarket CEO and BitPremier investor Barry Silbert, indicated that the sale is “by far the largest” completed to date via the marketplace, which was launched last May.

As for the house sale, Silbert indicated that due to Indonesia’s unique laws regarding the ownership of real estate by foreigners, the buyer is technically purchasing a long-term lease.

 

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/29386-exotic-indonesian-villa-is-first-major-bitcoin-real-estate-purchase