HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency gaining wider global acceptance, will be accepted as payment from commercial real estate investors acquiring an office complex inside Houston’s Inner Loop.
The sale of the 50 Briar Hollow property, comprised of two mid-rise office buildings constructed in the late 1970s, is being handled by NewQuest Properties.
First Houston Office Building Offered for Purchase With Bitcoin
The upcoming marketing campaign for 50 Briar Hollow is believed to be the first in Greater Houston to accept Bitcoin offers as legal tender for investors pursuing the 199,675-square-foot, two-building office project, NewQuest said in a statement.
“The seller is very open to this new form of currency. He’s taking a cue from where the world is moving and wants to be at the forefront,” said Glenn Dickerson, vice president of Houston-based NewQuest Properties.
The ownership partnership, BDFI LLC, has retained Dickerson along with NewQuest colleagues Brad LyBrand, senior vice president, and Charles McGahren, associate, to market the asset, which is among the largest value-add acquisition opportunities currently available in the Galleria submarket. One building is fully vacant and the other is roughly 30% leased, reflecting tenant departures and pandemic-related business disruptions.
The 3.17-acre, multi-tenant office complex is located south of Memorial Park and north of San Felipe in the Pin Oak area. The BDFI property sits a few blocks east of Loop 610 and about six miles from Houston’s Central Business District.
BDFI raised the possibility of accepting digital currency when the ownership discussed the assignment with Dickerson. According to the broker, the contract price will not be adjusted to account for Bitcoin’s price volatility.
“I’m actively involved in cryptocurrency, so I was really excited that the seller also believes in crypto,” Dickerson said. “This is a strong endorsement of Bitcoin; the seller plans to hold the currency rather than immediately converting it to U.S. dollars, as many others have done.”
The announcement that Bitcoin will be an accepted option in this Houston real estate transaction came hours after Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that his company would accept Bitcoin as payment for its electric vehicles.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin was trading around $40,288.
June 14, 2021 Realty News Report Copyright 2021
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Image: Courtesy NewQuest
File: Bitcoin Enters Houston Real Estate Market. Investors. Office.