Real estate industry software provider Propy is launching a new blockchain-enabled title and escrow service, it announced Thursday.
The firm’s title and escrow product is available in Arizona, Colorado and Florida, but Propy said it plans to make the service available in all states by the end of the year.
Blockchain is a digital ledger of transactions maintained by a network of computers. Due to the way data is stored in blockchain, it is immutable, meaning you cannot manipulate data already stored in the system. Today, blockchain technology is commonly used with cryptocurrency and the buying and selling of NFTs.
According to Propy, real estate agents, homebuyers and sellers across the country soon will be able to do everything from submit an offer letter to close on a transaction through Propy’s platform.
“We want to bring innovation into the way we do transactions and we are doing that by bringing blockchain into our platform and making it so a client can buy a home with a few clicks,” said Natalia Karayaneva, the CEO of Propy. “We have been using blockchain in our closings for the past five years or so and many states now have blockchain laws stating that records recorded on blockchain can be used as evidence in courts.”
Karayaneva said in addition to recording deeds on block chain, Propy also records them with the county or state office as required by law. However, with the increase in data leaks and hacks, she believes storing the records on the immutable technology is a huge benefit for homebuyers.
While some see blockchain as the far-off future for the title industry, Karayaneva sees it as something that should be taken advantage of now.
“We have had many requests from title insurance companies and from counties to bring all the historical data onto blockchain. The majority of records have all been digitized, but they are still at risk for hacking and fraud,” she said. “Blockchain will transform anything that relates to property rights and ownership transfer. I think that this industry will become more efficient and that it will be more understandable for the consumer.”
