RESEARCH ON BLOCKCHAIN IN REAL ESTATE - CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS IN INDIA

ABSTRACT 20000 years old “Tally sticks” made of prehistoric animal bones were first forms of transaction records of buying/selling and lending/borrowing Before the blockchain: 5 fascinating ledger systems that time forgot , “Proto-Cuneiform” Robert K. Englund, “Proto-Cuneiform Account-Books and Journals,” (Englund 2001) was first developed and used almost 5000 to 7000 years ago, it was a form of pictorial ledger record used by the ancient Mesopotamians ,since ages humans have understood the importance of record keeping of transactions in trade and commerce , with the use of double entry system in the year 1340 Genoese Massari ledgers (Italy ) and later improvisations in 15th century by Italian mathematician Luca Pascioli c1447 – 1517 (considered as Father of Accounting) we (humans) developed a more robust way of recording transactions using accounting ledgers , Blockchain technology uses same basic principles of Ledger and it has proven itself equally robust in recording transactions and asset flows , along with working as a tool to identify unique digital assets and tangible assets (Digital/Smart Contracts/NFTs/iOT Tags etc.). Real estate sector has endured new technologies in construction, use of new materials , new construction technologies and durability , it is evolving at a fast pace when it comes to advanced products and services in “Real Estate Ecosystem” , from Co Living to Virtual Offices , to advanced financial products ancillary to real estate sector like RECOS (Real Estate Co-Ownership Scheme) Real Estate Swaps , etc, Block chain can play a major role in development of innovative real estate products and services and also help provide solutions to challenges that exists in Real estate market, this paper aims at studying challenges and prospects of Blockchain in real estate in India. Paper begins with understanding of Ledger and Blockchain, evolution of Blockchain , followed by real estate products and application of block chain in different aspects of the real estate ecosystem and their risks and challenges . Keywords: Blockchain , NFT , Real estate , smart contract , Distributed ledger , DeFi , Proptech