[2017-09-06] Luxury Dubai High Rise Apartments Will Be Sold for Bitcoin

[Iloveelvis]

This week two business luminaries, Baroness Michelle Mone and Douglas Barrowman, have announced the sale of 2.4 million square feet of Dubai residential property will be sold for bitcoin. The residential 40-storey tower apartments will be the first properties located in Dubai’s Science Park priced and sold for a cryptocurrency settlement.

Through a partnership with Knox Group and the bitcoin payment processor Bitpay, a selection of 1,133 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, ready for completion by September 2019 will be sold for bitcoin. The Aston Development properties offer unique floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the  Dubai Hills and city’s skyline. Further the project was developed by the well-known architects John R Harris & Partners alongside interior design by Michelle Mone Interiors. According to Knox Group, the development will feature three floors of cafes, restaurants, a supermarket, and boutiques.

Read More Here >>> https://news.bitcoin.com/luxury-dubai-high-rise-apartments-will-be-sold-for-bitcoin/

[iram1011]

I am glad that the price is not in USD but in BTC which is quite rare to happen. We have seen people using BTC for buying properties before too but set price was usually in USD. Also, this is the smart move my seller. He will give 9% returns to the buyer after the construction completes whereas Bitcoin would be rising much more than that. But on the whole I am glad that something at bigger scale is happening. More will follow the suit. These things will ultimately help in increasing the popularity and hence the demand.

[BitHodler]

I am glad that the price is not in USD but in BTC which is quite rare to happen.

Even though these apartments aren't being sold in fiat specifically, it doesn't mean fiat isn't the leading factor ~ if Bitcoin was still in its $1000s, the number of coins required to purchase an apartment would be far higher.

Other than that, if I look through this whole thing, I get the impression that this is being done purely because the entities behind these apartments are extremely bullish when it comes to Bitcoin.

If Bitcoin increases even with 100% in value in the coming 1-2 years, it means that these people have done an excellent job into ditching fiat for Bitcoin ~ they already have my respect for that.

If this turns out to be a success, we can expect this to stretch out further. Imagine how things will be when multi billion dollar deals will be settled in Bitcoin at some point in the far future. #HODL

[Slow death]

these rich people know how to live life... hahahaha

who knows ton crazy, jack chan, ludacris, ciara, jay z and his wife and many singers and actors follow the same path buying their goods using bitcoin.

already imagined to buy the champions league tickets with bitcoin and buy the world Cup soccer  tickets with bitcoin

[Xavofat]

I am glad that the price is not in USD but in BTC which is quite rare to happen.

Even though these apartments aren't being sold in fiat specifically, it doesn't mean fiat isn't the leading factor

Economic value is the leading factor.  The reason that housing is typically measured in fiat is because you can easily measure the economic value of fiat and tell what goods you can buy with it. 

What people forget is that two currencies always fluctuate against each other rather than just one fluctuating, and while the US dollar is reasonably stable, house prices will still increase with inflation as well as what people perceive to be the value.  So it would be more accurate to say that it would cost a different amount of BTC if the economic value of BTC was lower.
For now, these BTC property sales are extremely niche and they're essentially just tests of what is possible.  It'll be a lot longer before they're used as a viable alternative to fiat property sales, if ever.

[1Referee]

It's a cool publicity stunt for sure, but I don't read anywhere how exactly the sales in Bitcoin will be handled by BitPay. It may very well be that everything will end up being sold on the market entirely. I personally hope that the major percentage of these sales will remain in Bitcoin, because if this trend continues, it will positively impact the market in the long term. It will create some sort of an ICO effect where huge loads of coins will remain stagnant in their wallets for a good while, which might result in a similar effect to how Ethereum has been exploding in value this year. It's insane to see how Bitcoin developed itself throughout the years - it feels like yesterday where I bought my first coins between $20-$25 in very early 2013. This market is no longer a joke.

[richardsNY]

It will be an interesting test for sure, but the volatility will always play an important role here, especially when it comes to high value transactions. If we look at the starting price of 33 BTC, which for sure is tied to fiat since BitPay is responsible as third party, it will likely move up and down with the volatility this market experiences. It has to be like that since I can't come up with a reason as to why they would stick to 33 BTC in case the market takes a dive. No one is in the market to swallow a serious 'loss' in case the market plummets with say 20% in a matter of days.

[error08]

I am glad that the price is not in USD but in BTC which is quite rare to happen. We have seen people using BTC for buying properties before too but set price was usually in USD. Also, this is the smart move my seller. He will give 9% returns to the buyer after the construction completes whereas Bitcoin would be rising much more than that. But on the whole I am glad that something at bigger scale is happening. More will follow the suit. These things will ultimately help in increasing the popularity and hence the demand.

Currently, studio properties will have a starting price of 33 BTC, and the real estate agency says early investors will get additional benefits. Additionally, packages of interior design services and furniture can also be purchased using bitcoin.
BTC33 equal to $151,900 right now, in fact they bait more potential investors through bitcoin but you wouldn't have the studio until 2019.
It feels like a company tried to collect funds by doing Crowdfunding, in this case you will get a studio. But, they do not really sell it for bitcoin as Bitpay will convert bitcoin to fiat currency.

[Samarkand]

It's a cool publicity stunt for sure, but I don't read anywhere how exactly the sales in Bitcoin will be handled by BitPay...

I think they have probably negotiated a backroom deal with BitPay. They get fiat from BitPay and BitPay covers
the exchange rate risk. Seems like a good deal for both sides. Free publicity and an additional
payment method for the developer and BitPay probably gets a small percentage and has enough experience in handling
BTC related transactions.

Probably you are better off holding your BTC instead of buying one of these apartments (we all
agree that BTC is probably going to 10k or 20k in the near future).