First online residential property deal using Blockchain technology

Guy Horne

HS Property Group, a real estate investment and development firm based in Manchester, has become the first UK residential property company to record the online exchange of a residential property using blockchain technology.

It has used the clicktopurchase to perform the transaction – reported in the blockchain – for the sale of the four-bedroom HMO Investment property in Oldham.

Heralded by many as the future of finance and real estate, blockchain technology has attracted headlines recently as cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are underpinned by the mechanism, thus enabling technologies such as peer-to-peer financial transactions, without a third party mediator.

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.”

According to Horne, Blockchain helps facilitate a quicker and safer method of buying and selling property, as all transactions – from making the offer through to a legally binding exchange of contracts – are recorded on an immutable ledger.

Advocates say that using a blockchain makes the transaction much simpler, while delivering certainty, transparency and accountability. It enables distant buyers to transact as easily as a local purchaser and brings the huge benefits of liquidity and flexibility.

HS Property Group was founded in 2014 by Manchester-based real estate entrepreneurs Horne and David Searle. They specialise in developing high-yielding residential investment property secured through long-term corporate leases with established social housing organisations.

Neil Singer, chief executive of clicktopurchase, added: “Some of the biggest problems the property industry faces is the length of time it takes to exchange contracts along with the lack of certainty. Real estate transactions can be complex but by using clicktopurchase the process is significantly quicker.”

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