Bitcoin and housing market collide as home sellers increasingly accept crypto

·Senior Columnist

May 6, 2021 at 3:56 PM·3 min read

When real estate agent Whitney Pannell listed an investment home that she bought and renovated for $300,000, she added an unusual note to the description: "Sellers are accepting Bitcoin for this home."

“I’m a firm believer in bitcoin — I believe it will be the future,” said Pannell, who has been investing seriously in the digital coin since 2019 with her husband, Rick. She had heard of properties in California selling for bitcoin years ago, but not in her home market of Lexington, Kentucky. “I figured somebody will do it, why not us?”

She's not alone. More sellers — albeit still a small segment — are trying to get in on bitcoin and cryptocurrency through the hot housing market, according to Realtor.com data provided to Yahoo Money.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 31: A home stands for sale in a Brooklyn neighborhood with a limited supply of single family homes on March 31, 2021 in New York City. As Americans increasingly look for larger spaces now that many are working and educating their children from home, prices of homes have risen an estimated 16% as supply can't meet demand. The number of homes for sale stands at a record low, with only a two-month supply at the current pace of sales. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) — A home stands for sale in a Brooklyn neighborhood with a limited supply of single family homes on March 31, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) (Spencer Platt via Getty Images)

Last month, there were 71 listings that mentioned crypto or bitcoin in their descriptions on the real estate listing site. That's 14.3 listings per 100,000 homes, the highest rate on record, according to the data.

The previous high occurred in March 2018, during cryptocurrency’s last peak in popularity and prices. At that point, Realtor.com saw 12.7 listings per 100,000 homes.

“If the cryptocurrency market can get a firmer foothold and grow confidence from the general public, we may see a wider adoption of home sellers accepting cryptocurrencies as payment,” Nicolas Bedo, an economic research analyst at Realtor.com, told Yahoo Money.

Bitcoin has surged more than 500% in the past year, from less than $10,000 to the current price of almost $60,000. The cryptocurrency now has a market value of more than $1 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.com.

Other digital tokens, including ethereum, Binance coin, and Dogecoin have also rallied as investors pile into the sector, pushing the value of the more than 6,000 crypto coins past a total of $2.25 trillion.

At the same time, home values increased 12% year over year in February, the highest annual gain recorded by the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index since February 2006 — or two months shy of the last peak in housing.

“Bitcoin has appreciated about 200% a year, while the Lexington market did 3% — now 10% with what’s going on — but far less than what bitcoin has appreciated,” Pannell said. “It’s just about finding that buyer.”

Read more: Bitcoin: 74 questions answered

Raul Chavez of 800buykwik.com agrees and is instructing his real estate agents to note in listings that cryptocurrency is accepted. Chavez has been a house flipper in California — an investor who buys homes, fixes them up, and quickly resells them — since 2000.

Lately, he’s also been investing in bitcoin and ethereum.

“I feel in the long run, bitcoin will have the higher opportunity,” Chavez, who seriously got into the crypto market in April of last year, told Yahoo Money. “Yes, it’s more volatile, but 10 years from now, this is where the world is headed.”

His only problem is finding new homes to buy and flip for crypto in a housing market suffering from inventory shortages. The number of homes for sale at the end of March hit 1.07 million units, down 28.2% from a year ago and near historic lows, according to the National Association of Realtors.

“It's definitely a very hot housing market,” he said.

Potentially too hot to hold out for bitcoin buyers: Both listings that Chavez and Pannell put up are under contract to buyers offering run-of-the-mill U.S. dollars.

“No bitcoin offers, but we did sell it after multiple offers over the asking price,” Pannell said. “We’re not at the point that we’ll turn away all cash.”

Janna is an editor for Yahoo Money and Cashay. Follow her on Twitter@JannaHerron.

NBC News
Trump's plan to end daylight savings: Will 4:30 a.m. be the new American daybreak?
Morning in America could, someday soon, be earlier than ever imagined.
Associated Press
China says US is 'playing with fire' after latest military aid for Taiwan
The Chinese government protested Sunday the latest American announcements of military sales and assistance to Taiwan, warning the United States that it is “playing with fire.” U.S. President Joe Biden authorized Saturday the provision of up to $571 million in Defense Department material and services and in military education and training for Taiwan. Separately, the Defense Department said Friday that $295 million in military sales had been approved.
TODAY
Here’s what to do if you win the Mega Millions jackpot
The next drawing for the Mega Millions jackpot of $8325 million will take place December 20 Here's what to do if you win.
Associated Press
Isolated Chicago communities secure money for a coveted transit project before Trump takes office
Adella Bass dropped her in-person college classes because it was just too hard to get there from the far South Side of Chicago, where the city's famous elevated train doesn't run. The Biden administration notified Congress last week that it would commit $1.9 billion toward a nearly $5.7 billion project to add four new L stations on the South Side, the Chicago system’s largest expansion project in history. The pledge, which the Federal Transit Administration is expected to formally sign before President Joe Biden leaves office in January, essentially locks in current and future funding.
AFP
Minorities fear targeted attacks in post-revolution Bangladesh
For generations, the small Hindu temple outside the capital in Muslim-majority Bangladesh was a quiet place to pray -- before arsonists ripped open its roof this month in the latest post-revolution unrest."My son saw the flames and doused them quickly," said temple custodian Ratan Kumar Ghosh, 55, describing how assailants knew to avoid security cameras, so they tore its tin roof open to enter.
Associated Press
Winter is hitting Gaza and many Palestinians have little protection from the cold
Winter is hitting the Gaza Strip and many of the nearly 2 million Palestinians displaced by the devastating 14-month war with Israel are struggling to protect themselves from the wind, cold and rain. There is a shortage of blankets and warm clothing, little wood for fires, and the tents and patched-together tarps families are living in have grown increasingly threadbare after months of heavy use, according to aid workers and residents. Shadia Aiyada, who was displaced from the southern city of Rafah to the coastal area of Muwasi, has only one blanket and a hot water bottle to keep her eight children from shivering inside their fragile tent.
CBS News
NYPD chief resigns amid sexual misconduct claims
NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey has resigned following allegations of sexual misconduct, the department says.
Associated Press
As flooding becomes a yearly disaster in South Sudan, thousands survive on the edge of a canal
Long-horned cattle wade through flooded lands and climb a slope along a canal that has become a refuge for displaced families in South Sudan. “Too much suffering,” said Bichiok Hoth Chuiny, a woman in her 70s. Such flooding is becoming a yearly disaster in South Sudan, which the World Bank has described as “the world’s most vulnerable country to climate change and also the one most lacking in coping capacity."
CNN
Two US Navy pilots eject safely over Red Sea after fighter jet shot down in apparent friendly fire incident
Two US Navy pilots ejected safely after their fighter jet was shot down over the Red Sea on Saturday in an apparent friendly fire incident, US Central Command said in a statement.
AFP
Iraq's prohibition zeal threatens Baghdad's boozy subculture
The smell of dampness rises through the dust at a private club in central Baghdad, one of many shut in a crackdown on alcohol sales in Iraq.Several private "social" clubs that have operated in Baghdad for decades were sent official letters in November forbidding them from manufacturing and serving alcoholic beverages.
Associated Press
Two US Navy pilots shot down over Red Sea in apparent 'friendly fire' incident, US military says
Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down Sunday over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the U.S military said, marking the most serious incident to threaten troops in over a year of America targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels. The U.S. military had conducted airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels at the time, though the U.S. military’s Central Command did not elaborate on what their mission was and did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press.
AFP
Tunisia women herb harvesters struggle with drought and heat
On a hillside in Tunisia's northwestern highlands, women scour a sun-scorched field for the wild herbs they rely on for their livelihoods, but droughts and rising temperatures are making it ever harder to find the precious plants.Wildfires fuelled by drought and rising temperatures have ravaged these woodlands, further diminishing the natural resources that women like Soudani depend on.
AFP
Trump threatens to take back control of Panama Canal
Incoming US president Donald Trump on Saturday slammed what he called unfair fees for US ships passing through the Panama Canal and threatened to demand control of the waterway be returned to Washington.He continued that if Panama could not ensure "the secure, efficient and reliable operation" of the channel, "then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question."
Politico
Trump taps billionaire Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta as Italy ambassador
Fertitta has never held political office but is a longtime GOP donor — including to Trump’s Save America PAC.
Associated Press
The water was their livelihood. Now Thailand's sea nomads work to preserve a vanishing way of life
When Hook was a child, he started his days by jumping off the boat that his family lived on and into the ocean. Now Hook, whose full name is Suriyan Klathale, lives on land like the rest of his community, a people known as the Moken. The recollections of his childhood, which many Moken of his generation still have, are mostly just memories.
Associated Press
Fleeing motorist is dead after driving into Texas shopping mall and injuring 5
A fleeing motorist drove a pickup truck into a busy JCPenney store in Texas on Saturday, injuring five people before he was fatally shot by law enforcement, authorities said. Four of the injured people were taken from the Killeen mall to hospitals and the fifth went on their own, Sgt. Bryan Washko of the Texas Department of Public Safety said in an evening media briefing. Ofelia Miramontez of the Killeen Police Department said the incident began with calls about an erratic driver in a black pickup in Belton, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) away.
Reuters
Trump says he might demand Panama hand over canal
President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday accused Panama of charging excessive rates for use of the Panama Canal and said that if Panama did not manage the canal in an acceptable fashion, he would demand the U.S. ally hand it over. In an evening post on Truth Social, Trump also warned he would not let the canal fall into the "wrong hands," and he seemed to warn of potential Chinese influence on the passage, writing the canal should not be managed by China. It also underlines an expected shift in U.S. diplomacy under Trump, who has not historically shied away from threatening allies and using bellicose rhetoric when dealing with counterparts.
AFP
In ruined homes, Palestinians recall Assad's torture
School lessons ended in Syria's biggest Palestinian refugee camp on October 18, 2012, judging by the date still chalked up on the board more than a decade later.According to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, at the start of Syria's conflict in 2011 it was home to 160,000 registered refugees.
CNN
How a teenager’s holiday romance led to prison time in Dubai
British citizen Marcus Fakana, 18, is facing a one-year prison sentence for his summer romance with a London teenager, 17, who he met while on holiday in the United Arab Emirates.
Politico
Biden could foil Trump’s plans to resume federal executions
The president is considering using his clemency power to convert federal death sentences to life in prison.

Latest Stories