The first home in the United States to be sold off as an NFT will be in Gulfport, Florida. The four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath home with a garden suite has a starting price of $650,000. The Feb. 8 auction will be hosted by Propy, who is most known for selling TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington’s home as an NFT.
NFTs have traditionally been used in digital fine art, but we are increasingly seeing them used in real estate.
First home in the United States to be sold off as an NFT
The Spanish-inspired Gulfport property, located at 6315 11th Ave. S will be auctioned off online by Propy, a Palo Alto-based real estate technology startup, with the property rights being minted into a digital token.
Propy sold TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington’s Kiev flat as an NFT last year, making this Florida addition the next step in the evolution of how NFTs can be utilized for real-world transactions.
The current owner, Leslie Alessandra, is a local real estate investor and the creator of Tampa Bay blockchain business DeFi Unlimited. She claimed she wanted to offer the home as an NFT to demonstrate how the technology is progressing.
In this situation, the NFT would represent the property’s digital rights, much like the actual deed. The NFT will act as the legal LLC for recording reasons, ensuring that the Gulfport home’s property rights and ownership records are appropriately protected.
“Is this just a gimmick or does it have a practical application?” In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Alessandra noted, “(The sale) is basically to generate dialogue.”
According to Alessandra, once the property rights for the Gulfport home are minted, they will be accompanied by a mural created by a local artist, which will function as an additional NFT.
Derek Donnelly, known as Saint Pete, will paint an indoor mural on one of the property’s exposed brick walls in anticipation of one day immortalizing similar street art in Tampa Bay.
Of course, any acquisition of real estate, such as a house, must be recorded with the county recorders’ office in order to legally transfer ownership rights. As a result, a legal body must exist in order to transfer the property, increasing the visibility and relevance of actual case studies where NFTs are used.
Indeed, the legal landscape is rapidly changing to accommodate Web3 and the metaverse, which includes fintech such as cryptocurrency and non-traditional financial instruments (NFTs).
“Certainly, there’s something remarkable about being the first. “It’s like having the very first computer connected to the internet,” Alessandra explained. “However, I absolutely hope that the owner is a proponent of blockchain and NFTs and that it will serve as a representation.”
Also read: U.S. lawmakers who buy and sell digital currencies
