Canter Companies, a San Diego financial and investment advisory firm, said on February 16, 2018, that two luxury homes can now be bought with Bitcoin. Together, the two properties are listed at about $20 million.
The first home, at 6653 Neptune Place, is priced at $11,800,000. The firm put that at 1,199 Bitcoin, based on a price of $8,625 per coin when the announcement was written.
The second property is at 1257 Silverado in La Jolla. Its asking price is $7,995,000, which the firm converted to 812.4 Bitcoin at the same rate.
Alan Ezier, one of the sellers, explained why he chose to accept the cryptocurrency. He believes blockchain technology is here to stay, and he sees Bitcoin as the base of a new, independent financial system. Because crypto now reaches people worldwide, he said, buyers trust it more. As it has grown in popularity, it also reaches people who may not have cared about it a year earlier.
These are the first two homes Canter Companies has put up for sale in Bitcoin, though they will not be the last. CEO and founder Andrew Canter said the firm’s job is to keep clients informed about new technology and trends. After studying the industry closely, he concluded that a whole new class of wealthy people is underserved. The firm’s goal, he said, is to connect those buyers with its real estate clients. He stressed that this would not be a one-off campaign, since the firm plans to keep testing new ways to reach that market.
More Bitcoin listings will be added to the brokerage’s website as they go live.
Canter Companies was founded in 2007. Since then it has stayed active in real estate and investment by adapting to changing markets. It brings related businesses together under one roof, which means it can manage the full life cycle of an investment.