The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) and the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ), in collaboration with RMIT’s Blockchain Innovation Hub, have released a groundbreaking new report showing how blockchain technology could be used to revolutionise the Australian and New Zealand real estate sector.
The report titled, Blockchain: Opportunities and Disruptions for Real Estate, found Blockchain technology has broad applications for the real estate industry and could help to reduce friction in complex transactions, broaden service offerings, facilitate tokenisation, increase transparency and improve information flow.
RMIT’s Blockchain Innovation Hub’s Co-Director Distinguished Professor Jason Potts said they jumped at the opportunity to work with REIA and REINZ to provide blockchain research for future real estate applications.
“The real estate industry has the appetite and incentive to really utilise blockchain technology to enhance the customer experience,” Potts said
“The time is right for Australia and New Zealand to become early adopters and in doing so provide more options for their customers such as the tokenisation of real estate assets which can lead to lower costs, increased liquidity and therefore faster settlement times,” he said.
REIA President Hayden Groves said blockchain technologies are in the early phases of adoption by real estate agencies Australia wide and that REIA and REIs would be working together to enhance opportunities for practitioner awareness.
“We have everything from a CPD (Continuing Professional Development) accredited blockchain course being run by REIWA, through to agents in Sydney being the first in the world to accept payment for property in cryptocurrency, as well as emerging smart contract technology for sales and rent rolls,” Groves said.
“RMIT has identified a range of key existing, shelf ready opportunities to further this offering that includes asset management, tokenised fractional ownership, loan and mortgage securisation and payments and real time accounting.”
Groves said the research is only as good as its adoption, and the team at REIA have been tasked at getting to work on an adoption strategy.
“As REIA President, I want agents and agencies to be a trusted member of their communities and property transactions and blockchain offers the potential to completely improve and grow trust in a real way,” he said.
Blockchain: Opportunities and disruptions for real estate will be available on Wednesday 29 June 2022. REIA has also minted a commemorative NFT in honor of the landmark report.
