Blockchain in the housing industry

The future of affordable housing depends in part on innovation. That’s why we're exploring new ways to reimagine the housing finance ecosystem. We believe using blockchain technology could help streamline the mortgage and securitization processes in Canada.

We've started the work towards a digital transformation that will unlock value for Canadians, the financial institutions which serve them, and others in the industry. This transformation could improve how people find homes. It could create efficiencies in housing finance, making the housing market more stable and secure.

Blockchain is a digital record -keeping system that works like a chain of linked blocks, each containing a list of records. It's decentralized, meaning it's stored across many computers. This makes it secure and transparent because everyone in the network can see the records, and no single entity can make changes.

The housing industry could use blockchain to record property transactions, track ownership and manage contracts securely and transparently. This could reduce fraud, streamline the buying process and ensure accurate, up-to-date property records.

Broader advantages to using blockchain in the housing sector include:

• improved data quality and transparency for loans and securities
• increased speed in the issuance of loans and securities
• reduced cost because of process efficiencies
• decreased financial risks and fraud