So You Want to Buy a Home With Bitcoin? – NMP Skip to main content

So You Want to Buy a Home With Bitcoin?

Dec 15, 2017
The cryptocurrency Bitcoin is slowly seeping into the housing market, with a new study by the brokerage Redfin finding 75 listings nationwide where the seller will accept Bitcoin as payment

The cryptocurrency Bitcoin is slowly seeping into the housing market, with a new study by the brokerage Redfin finding 75 listings nationwide where the seller will accept Bitcoin as payment. And at least one seller, a condo owner in Miami, insisted in Bitcoin payment only—33 coins, to be precise.
 
With Bitcoin trading for $16,650.01 as of Dec. 12, Redfin estimated it would could 18 Bitcoins to purchase the average U.S. home; the median home in the expensive San Francisco market would go for 82 bitcoins. But sellers also face the uncertainty that the meteoric rise of Bitcoin’s value could be met with an equally rapid decline.
 
“It’s hard to say whether the use of cryptocurrency to buy and sell homes is a long-term trend or just a blip based on the recent spike in value,” said Redfin Chief Economist Nela Richardson. “In some ways, cryptocurrency investors have just won the lottery, and so it makes perfect sense to buy their dream home. On the other side of the ‘coin’, sellers probably wouldn’t accept lottery tickets as payment.”
 
One individual who is not Bitcoin enthusiast is Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen, who weighed in on cryptocurrency during a press conference on Wednesday.
 
“It is not a stable store of value and it doesn't constitute legal tender,” Yellen said. “It is a highly speculative asset and the Fed doesn't really play any role, any regulatory role with respect to bitcoin other than assuring that banking organizations that we do supervise [and] are attentive that they're appropriately managing any interactions they have with participants in that market, and appropriately monitoring anti-money laundering [and] Bank Secrecy Act responsibilities that they have.”

 
About the author
Published
Dec 15, 2017
More from
Tech
New AI-Run Mortgage Startup Builds Database Of 224,000 LOs

LenDb.ai is making LO records available to AI assistants, offering a potential new way for borrowers to find originators

Nov 05, 2026
Gateway Taps ICE For Servicing Overhaul After $2.4B MSR Sale

The lender is consolidating servicing operations on ICE's MSP platform after disclosing regulatory capital constraints that have limited its ability to retain MSRs

Nov 05, 2026
Rocket's New Tool Lets Brokers Counter Rival Refi Offers On The Spot

Born from a broker's winning Big Pitch proposal, Quick Counter analyzes competing Loan Estimates and generates alternative offers during borrower calls

Nov 03, 2026
Dark Matter Expands AI Ambitions With House Numbers Acquisition

The deal builds on a series of automation initiatives as the tech provider moves toward AI agents capable of executing tasks throughout the loan lifecycle

Nov 02, 2026
Friday Harbor Expands AI Appraisal Reviews As UAD 3.6 Deadline Nears

The new capability adds more than 350 automated checks as lenders prepare for the November 2 mandate

Oct 27, 2026