Overcoming the Barriers to Real Estate Development
Most traditional industries and markets tend to have numerous restrictions when it comes to letting new participants in. Majority of these restriction revolves around geographical and economic limitations. The internet has led to an increased importance in disseminating information across several industries, playing a critical role in financial globalization.
Financial globalization has afforded investors the opportunity to distribute risk and tap into diverse markets where productivity and investment returns are higher through portfolio diversification. Buoyed by technological advancements — especially the improved connectivity, mobility, and socialization capabilities of the internet, financial globalization continues to expand the appetite of investors from equity to bonds, and now properties. It is in the real estate market that financial globalization has afforded investors great maneuverability, creating new investment vehicles that tackles the industry’s problem and pushing down barriers to Foreign Direct investments.
With the internet, investors no longer have to cruise from town to town looking a “For Sale” sign or ramp up subscription to homeowner magazines when they can just search for any property anywhere, anytime. Properties can be invested into directly or indirectly through REITs and unlisted funds. The technology has also helped developers, agents, brokers, and sellers expand their reach and market penetration through cheaper ad platforms (compared to print media) and instantaneous communication. However, despite this boom, certain hurdles, such as political risk, legal barriers for foreign and domestic investors, access to capital accounts, and taxation has restricted market potentials, investors access and confidence.
To tackle this problem, the blockchain’s distributed, decentralized, and immutable ledger system has emerged as the definitive technology underpinning the development of any solution. However, transacting on the blockchain can be the head scratcher for the ordinary user.
Real Estate Investment made Easy
Explaining what a private and public key is to the common man, how it’s neither a pin or a password, and how you need to set gas price and amount before transact can quickly devolve into a tongue twisting venture. Of course, having a tamperproof, disintermediated and decentralized technology that cannot be owned or hijacked by any entity is great, but the hops involved in getting there is often off-putting for most, especially for businesses. The ideal solution would be the development of a platform that exposes the ordinary investor to the benefits of the blockchain without cramming a bunch of technicalities down their throat in the same breath. Investors should be able to leverage the blockchain to bring clarity, accountability, and accessibility to investment opportunities without any barrier to entry. Elements Estates is putting the blockchain in the hands of investors with none of the complications.
Elements Estates let investors tap into the real estate market without the traditional risks and limitations through a decentralized and disintermediated platform on the blockchain. And even with the solution being built on something as cutting-edge and new-fangled as the blockchain, the ordinary investor doesn’t need to grapple with all the new concepts it entails as Elements Estates gives users the ability to invest using fiat, while still reaping the benefits of the blockchain. Take Tom for example. He sees a property in Croatia and figures out that all this caterpillar needs to blossom into a butterfly is just some renovation. Market research backs up his claim. So, he logs onto Elements Estates to present the property and vote for it using the platform’s native ELES tokens. But wait, he doesn’t have these tokens to vote… what does he do?
Through third-party liquidity partners, Elements Estates enable fiat-based investors to speedily change their money for tokens. This exchange is governed by smart contracts, ensuring that there is neither delay nor ambiguity in the transaction. With his tokens in hand, Tom can now vote for the renovation of the property and because the community agrees with him by voting too, Elements Estates renovates the property, putting it up for holiday rental during summer months and also for sale after the tourist/holiday season. But there’s more to ELES tokens than just voting. Tom can also use his tokens for his vacation in this property or have the value and worth of his tokens greatly appreciated by the sale of the property (50% of which will be locked down for a 3 years vesting period, providing him with future benefits to look forward)
Originally published at medium.com on September 1, 2018.
