“Bitcoin accepted”: the cure-all for an impossible listing?

An agent in Delaware is betting on crypto to get the job done

Stock photo of man with Bitcoin merchandise behind. (Credit: BTC Keychain/Flickr, back; Ryan Hyde/Flickr, front)
Stock photo of man with Bitcoin merchandise behind. (Credit: BTC Keychain/Flickr, back; Ryan Hyde/Flickr, front)

Wondering how to attract international buyers or get eyes on an off-beat listing? Agent Michael A. Kelczewski is betting on Bitcoin to draw them in.

Kelczewski, an agent with Brandywine Fine Properties Sotheby’s International Realty, is handling a $1.75 million listing of more than 4-acre estate in Newark, Delaware and telling potential buyers they can pay in the cryptocurrency, according to the New York Post.

“It’s not easy to purchases houses internationally,” he told local publication, The News Journal of Wilmington. “This is increasing its marketability.”

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According to Kelczewski, the ability for a foreign buyer to forgo dealing with middlemen by essentially doing a direct transaction via Bitcoin, in combination with this being one of a handful of U.S. listings to nominally accept Bitcoin puts this 2013 mansion — located in state not known for its luxury market — on the map.

Late last December, the first Bitcoin-only real estate deal closed in Miami The Real Deal reported, however most listings that claim to accept Bitcoin ultimately convert the cryptocurrency into cash.

Kelczewski’s strategy seems to have worked from a publicity standpoint, but whether it will actually sell the 8,375-square-foot house remains to be seen. [NYP]Erin Hudson