US National Association of Realtors Invests in Blockchain-Based Real Estate Firm Propy

A major United States trade association, the National Association of Realtors (NAR), has invested in blockchain-based real estate platform Propy, Forbes reports on June 10.

The NAR’s strategic investment arm, Second Century Ventures, has invested an undisclosed amount in Ethereum blockchain-based startup Propy as a part of its commercial real estate technology accelerator REach.

Launched in February 2019, the REach program is reportedly the first commercial accelerator of its kind, aiming to bring together major technology disruptors in the real estate industry by selecting ten startups to enter each year, the report notes.

By choosing Propy, Second Century Ventures intends to streamline its operations through blockchain technology in real estate transactions due to its immutable data storage, the firm’s senior marketing and communications director Ashley Stinton said.

Founded in 2017, Propy is a global real estate transaction management platform for facilitating property transactions online. Back in 2017, the company raised about $14 million in an initial coin offering (ICO) through its own utility token PRO that is designed to bolster a self-sustaining ecosystem tracking global real estate ownership.

Specifically, Propy eliminates the need for a third party in real estate transactions, providing an additional level of security and transparency in the market. According to Forbes, Propy has listings in more than 30 countries and expects to hit $4 million in annual recurring revenue by the end of 2019 in sales of software as a service (SaaS) products.

The NAR is reportedly the largest trade association in the U.S., representing 1.3 million members.

Last year, a pilot program in the state of Vermont reportedly completed the first entirely blockchain-based real estate transaction in the U.S. in collaboration with Propy.

Earlier in May, the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance described a set of blockchain use cases in the real estate industry in a report, claiming that blockchain tech can potentially shorten the process of recording and transferring properties.