Houses very cheap in bitcoin

BETTER ASSET: R1M SA HOME BOUGHT IN 2017 COST 12 BTC. ITS VALUE IS LESS THAN 1.5 BTC TODAY

- Ciaran Ryan

R1 million house bought in 2017 would have cost us just shy of 12 bitcoin (BTC).

Today, the value of that property is 1.44 BTC after allowing for increases in residential property values as tracked by Statistics SA.

SA house prices are already considered cheap relative to many overseas markets but are even more affordable when measured in bitcoin.

Chart 1 shows BTC's deflationary power since 2017. BTC broke $70 000 last week and hit all-time highs in some currencies - though not when measured in ZAR, which has been strengthening against the US dollar in recent months.

Another way is that if you invested your R1 million in BTC in January 2017 rather than a house, you would have 15.9 BTC today, worth R19.5 million.

That's assuming you purchased the house entirely with cash. Most people will use bank finance, perhaps with a 10% cash downpayment, not counting conveyancing and other fees.