Inman

‘Blockchain for title deeds’ unveiled

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Property search sites, e-signature software and other innovations allow buyers, sellers and real estate agents to complete much of a real estate transaction online.

But the title transfer process remains a barrier to automation.

Propy, a platform that streamlines cross-border real estate transactions, has announced software for governments and title companies that it says can slice through this barrier.

It’s powered by blockchain, a technology that uses a decentralized ledger to prevent tampering.

Propy says it can facilitate the secure transfer of assets by enforcing international data standards and by providing its blockchain-powered ledger to existing title registries in the U.S., the European Union and other countries.

The idea that governments would embrace blockchain anytime soon might seem like a pipe dream — but a handful, such as Sweden, the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Ukraine and Illinois’s Cook County, are already testing applications in real estate.

Email Teke Wiggin.