Date of Award
5-2022
Document Type
Thesis
First Advisor
Humberto Barreto
Second Advisor
Monica Fennel
Third Advisor
Khadija Stewart
Abstract
We analyze the introduction of blockchain technology in the U.S. home sales market. The introduction of blockchain technology into the real estate industry has failed to meet high expectations to streamline operations and reduce costs. Required legal changes in the management of property deeds, high investment costs and unproven technology met resistance in a fragmented industry with many players, some holding monopoly control. Many parties in the complex chain of real estate transactions have resisted the natural Schumpeterian wave of creative destruction which, at the macro level, should bring huge savings. At the micro level, title insurers have the most to lose if a decentralized ‘trustless’ chain is created, since they extract high rents as middlemen.
Recommended Citation
Walton, Alexander, "Property Blockchains have Failed to Realize Their Promise" (2022). Honor Scholar Theses. 196, Scholarly and Creative Work from DePauw University.
https://scholarship.depauw.edu/studentresearch/196
