Real estate firm to offer brokers payment in cryptocurrency as part of ‘natural progression’
Great athletes and musicians were paid in cryptocurrency – and now real estate agents can too.
A specialist real estate company called RLTY Capital is the first to offer brokers the ability to prepay their commissions in cryptocurrency, underscoring how digital coins are becoming an increasingly common part of financial transactions.
“With crypto becoming more and more popular, we decided that offering agents was a good option and that it may be the way forward,” Briggs Elwell, CEO and co-founder of RLTY Capital, told Yahoo Finance in an interview .
“We are expanding our customers’ payment and investment options and want to make the process as simple as possible,” added Elwell.
Crypto enables a quick and straightforward payment process, he said, empowering agents to turn off intermediaries while avoiding payment processing fees associated with banking and wire transfers.
Ryan Serhant, CEO and founder of the real estate agency of the same name, has invested in RLTY. According to the entrepreneur, many real estate agents in luxury markets like New York and South Florida (which RLTY serves) want to get paid in crypto.
“[They] deal with buyers who are shopping either in or through cryptocurrency; So it’s just a natural development, ”said Serhant.
“I think it’s going to be huge for us and the agents we work with,” he added.
As more and more institutions get into crypto, everyone will be inundated with crypto more and more, be it for purchases in the grocery store, on Amazon, or for taking out their Netflix subscription.Ryan Serhant, real estate entrepreneur
RLTY’s services are currently available in New York and Florida and are expected to roll out nationwide within the next six to eight months.
RLTY, which works with industry experts to acquire outstanding real estate commissions on residential and commercial real estate, buys commissions direct from brokers rather than going through an intermediary. That makes it seamless and allows agents to reinvest in their business – something Serhant says most 1099 contractors find it difficult.
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MILLION DOLLAR LISTING NEW YORK – Pictured “(lr) Kirsten Jordan, Ryan Serhant – (Photo: Greg Endries / Bravo / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
The company has been trading traditional dollar transactions, but it is only just beginning to offer crypto. Elwell says what sets RLTY Capital apart is that it has no cap on the commissions it will buy, while most of its competitors limit commissions to around $ 10,000-15,000.
Elwell estimates 5% of repeat customers will try.
“RLTY Capital buys commissions from agents and grants them access to capital in minutes, hours, or days at the most, while these agents sometimes have to wait months to get paid for their work,” Serhant told Yahoo Finance.
“They have neither salaries nor social benefits. We’re giving them as many options as possible to get their hard work done for dollars asap – and if they want it and cryptocurrencies, we’re here for them, ”he added.
The ability for real estate agents to earn commissions in crypto arises as real estate purchases are made in crypto on both the residential and commercial side.
Serhant had previously forecast that within the next five years 50% of real estate transactions in the US will be in some form with cryptocurrency.
“Cryptocurrency is no longer just an alternative asset class, it’s just another asset class,” he said.
“As more and more institutions get into crypto … everyone will be more and more inundated with crypto, be it for purchases in the grocery store, Amazon or to complete their Netflix subscription with it,” Serhant predicted.
Further information on cryptocurrency can be found at:
Dogecoin, what is it? How to buy it
Ethereum: what is it and how to invest in it
The 21 Top Crypto Guides To Watch For In The Second Half Of 2021