In recent years, blockchain technology has received increasing attention in the real estate literature. Moreover, recent evidence suggests that blockchains could provide some added benefits for the real estate sector even in the current hybrid settings, where blockchain is usually just an add-on to existing systems. This research provides an up-to-date and systematic understanding of blockchain’s theoretical potential, pros, and cons for the real estate sector. The research aims to understand why and where to apply blockchain in real estate by conducting a systematic review that identified 296 relevant documents and performed a thematic content analysis. The identified blockchain adoption proposals were classified using standardized real estate vocabulary. Most of the literature focused on blockchain possibilities within land administration, followed by property transactions, real estate investment, leasing and renting, and real estate administration. However, real estate development and real estate maintenance did not appear as attractive real estate subsectors for blockchain. This paper provides a detailed analysis of blockchain technology’s possibilities for each real estate subsector, i.e., blockchain merits, and discusses the pros and cons. Last, this review provides suggestions for future research directions.

Purpose The real estate industry is often highlighted as a significant beneficiary of blockchain-driven digital transformation (DT). This paper unravels blockchain’s role in driving rapid DT in the Finnish housing sector and its removal after market entry. Design/methodology/approach This four-year longitudinal study used 35 semi-structured interviews. Findings Blockchain was crucial in the early industry-wide DT, fostering innovation through shared value creation, delivery and capture while supporting collaboration and enhancing processes. The findings largely support blockchain’s theoretical benefits in reducing intermediaries, automating processes, minimizing errors, enhancing transparency and addressing data silos in real estate transactions. However, limitations – like the need for specialised expertise, scalability issues and centralisation tendencies emerged – ultimately outweighed the benefits, leading to blockchain abandonment. Regulatory commitment, contrary to expectations about regulatory barriers, regulatory commitment substantially boosted industry activities. While blockchain can spark transformation, maintaining momentum amid evolving market and regulatory developments may require more than blockchain alone can offer. Practical implications Blockchain can drive early-stage DT even in traditional industries like real estate, addressing issues like intermediary reliance, manual processes, inefficiencies and errors. However, it does not guarantee long-term decentralisation as initially promised and depends on off-chain governance. Originality/value This is the first empirical study on blockchain in real estate examining the drivers of a full-scale DT. It is also amongst the first to explore blockchain’s evolving role in successful industry-wide transformation based on a rare four-year study, extending insights into blockchain’s initial impact and subsequent limitations beyond the firm level.

The purpose of this study was to identify financial incentives for consumers in low interest margin housing loan markets, such as Finland, for green housing loans, including both green mortgages and renovation loans. Although green financing is well-researched, the financial viability of green housing loans under the EU Taxonomy as a sustainable financing framework remains underexplored. EU’s revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive sets Minimum Energy Performance Standards for expediting the decarbonisation of European building stock, with households playing a key role through energy-efficient renovations. The research design comprises two parts: developing a literature-based framework of financial incentives for green housing loans, followed by empirical validation through a stakeholder workshop. The study proposes six financial incentives for consumers regarding green housing loans: 1) margin discounts 2) fixed discounts 3) increased collateral value 4) inexpensive renovation loans 5) guarantees and 6) other incentives like interest subsidy or retailer partner financing. The study suggests that renovations towards EU's climate targets can substantially be enhanced by aligning government subsidies, tax-related incentives, and grants to green financing. The study concludes that key industry stakeholders regard consumers to prioritize financial incentives, which are challenging to identify in low interest margin environments like Finland, and that both green housing loans and public schemes are needed to drive renovations effectively to align with EU’s climate targets. Future research should examine financial incentives across EU countries to assess the impact of national policies on green financing to help creating a harmonized EU definition for green mortgages and loans.