Abbotsford-based Quantum Properties has become the first B.C. real estate developer to accept bitcoin for deposits on homes.
"We've decided as of today that we'll take deposits using bitcoin," Quantum CEO Diane Delves told Business in Vancouver January 15.
No buyers have yet asked to place a deposit with bitcoin but Delves said she wanted to be innovative and provide more options to potential buyers.
"I've been looking at bitcoin for quite a while. I like to try to keep up with current trends," she said. "Why not get in on it?"
The largest of Quantum's current projects is the 156-unit Mahogany at Mill Lake project on Gladwin Road in Abbotsford. Sales for that project launched about a year ago and 78 units remain.
The company is also building the Orchid Riverside development at the corner of Wilson Avenue and Reeve Street in Port Coquitlam. Sales for that project's 109-unit first phase launched in summer 2013 and 69 units remain available.
Finally, there's Quantum's Abacus Uptown project on Campbell Avenue in Abbotsford where 68 of the 90 homes are still available.
Larger B.C. developers are taking a wait-and-see approach to bitcoin.
"We would not be prepared to accept bitcoin at this point," Bosa Properties senior vice-president Daryl Simpson told BIV.
"I saw a news item about someone selling a car for bitcoin and I thought it will only be a matter of time – a nanosecond – until some developer or realtor hops on this too. But Bosa Properties is not in a position to do that yet."
