Australia’s First Real Estate Agency to Accept Bitcoin
Published at: April 1, 2014
Many articles on Cointelegraph.com cover businesses and merchants, who accept Bitcoin payments in exchange for their goods and services. Last year, we reported on the RentHop resource, offering a wide range of apartments for rent in New York for Bitcoin.
Moreover, in January, the Bond New York Real Estate Brokerage Firm, specializing in residential rentals and sales as well as commercial leasing, has announced it will accept Bitcoin as payment for real estate transactions.
The First in Australia
This time good news came from one of the most successful and respected real estate agencies in Australia. Forsyth Real Estate, based in Sydney’s North Shore, is the first Australia’s real estate agency to accept Bitcoin. Now, they also allow vendors to pay for their property advertising with Bitcoin. According to the company’s profile: “In 1898, Robert Todd (RT) Forsyth, a young real estate agent, opened a humble wooden office in Willoughby. Seeing a tremendous need for honest, knowledgeable real estate people, RT Forsyth founded his company with a revolutionary philosophy: the client's best interest above all. Over the last 100 years, Forsyths has forged a tradition of integrity, exceptional service and customer satisfaction that has become the agency’s hallmark.”
Partnership
James Snodgrass, Forsyth Managing Director, said: “Prior to launching, we had discussions with our financial division who outlined the risks and opportunities of Bitcoin and we were happy with our findings.”
Forsyth formed a partnership with CoinJar – a Melbourne-based Bitcoin payment provider. When customers choose to pay with Bitcoin - transactions go through CoinJar’s payment gateway. CoinJar accepts Bitcoin deposits and pays the agency in AUD taking a transaction fee of 0.5 percent. However, transactions made in Bitcoins still include Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Forsyth is another Australian-based business that decided to take advantage of the new opportunities provided by the crypto-currency just like other Aussie companies such as The Old Fitzroy Bar and Seagull Photography.
“We stand behind our 115 year philosophy ‘client’s best interest above all’ and will continue to offer our clients innovative options in this ever evolving world,” said James.