US real estate firm Okada & Company has listed its first commercial building for sale with a 15,000 Ethereum($28.7 million USD roughly) price tag. The NFT gives the buyer exclusive rights to “acquire the building all its uses rights & related deed covenants,” the firm said in a statement. “Due to the nature of real estate sales, the sale of the NFT does not warrant the completion of the real estate transaction, or reflect the transfer of the deed or title. The traditional real estate process must still be complete,” it explained.
Okada & Company is selling a 46,299 sq. feet property in the USA, in New York City’s prestigious Chelsea neighborhood which is located on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan. It is a seven-story office and retail building in close proximity to Madison Square Park and other NYC landmarks. There is one token for this deal, and this NFT will be minted on the Ethereum blockchain, according to the realtor. Chris Okada, CEO of Okada & Company, told Cryptonews.com that the company has already received expressions of interest in purchasing the building from a number of people, “but as we launched the sale of the property three-four days ago we are still in the beginning phases of the sale.”
There are a few different advantages to a transaction of this style. Okada said that they included the “utility of the NFT and finding another way of receiving payment for commercial real estate.” Meanwhile, commenting on the company’s latest initiative, some industry observers argued that Okada is using the sale to make its activities more visible to potential buyers. "My guess is it's a marketing tactic, but imagine a building can trade as NFT? Buyers can see the deed, NOI [net operating income], tenant mix on the blockchain+ trade hands immediately. 10 years away? 15? Whenever this happens will be so sick,” tweeted Web 3 investor Benjamin Cohen.