Valuing Homes in Bitcoin: Looking Through a New Lens
Over the past decade, U.S. home values have surged. Headlines call it a historic run for homeowners. Limited inventory and all-time-low interest rates are tailwinds that have driven U.S. homes to record-high values.
But for those thinking in bitcoin terms, the story is completely different: when you price homes in Bitcoin (BTC) instead of US dollars (USD), the chart flips.
Real estate, as priced in bitcoin, has been quietly depreciating. If you're a homeowner sitting on a few hundred thousand dollars in equity, this trend could represent one of the most important capital allocation opportunities of your lifetime.
In this blog, we will be outlining what happens when homes are valued in Bitcoin instead of dollars, and how homeowners can act on this opportunity to diversify their wealth away from their home, and into a more productive asset.
Your Home, Priced in Bitcoin
Most Americans measure their net worth in dollars, but very few of them understand that dollars are a moving target.
That is why we built the Horizon Chrome Extension. It is a simple tool that overlays BTC prices on Zillow and Redfin listings. Instead of viewing a $625,000 listing, you will see how many BTC it would take to buy that home in real time.
This is not just a novelty, it is a wake-up call. When you reprice the world in bitcoin, you gain a brand new perspective on housing. Real estate might still be rising in dollar terms, but relative to sound money, it is steadily losing ground.
We reviewed homes across Horizon’s active states and tracked their prices in Bitcoin over the past several years. Here are a few examples:
A 3-bedroom home in Austin, TX, worth approximately 240 Bitcoin in 2019, was recently listed and is now valued at under 12 Bitcoin. Its dollar price rose, but its Bitcoin price fell.
A beachfront Florida property, once listed at 575 Bitcoin in 2015, now goes for under 3 BTC.
A home in Phoenix, AZ, was worth 17.3 Bitcoin in 2019. Its 2025 resale price equates to just under 3 Bitcoin.
The pattern is clear: in fiat terms, homes are up. In bitcoin terms, homes are down. In most cases, they are down 70 to 80% in value over the last 10 years.
Implications for Homeowners
If you believe bitcoin will continue outperforming housing, then equity trapped in your home is capital that could be working harder.
That equity may be sitting idle, and therefore, losing ground against bitcoin every year.
This is a form of opportunity cost: the longer your wealth sits in your walls, the more value you forfeit by waiting to diversify it.
Horizon is the first platform built for homeowners who want to convert home equity into bitcoin without taking on debt, monthly payments, or interest.
We do this through a structure called a Home Equity Investment, or HEI. Here is how it works:
- You unlock a portion of your home equity in cash
- You can use that capital however you want, including to buy bitcoin
- You make no monthly payments and owe no interest
- Horizon settles at the end of the agreement based on your home’s value at the time
This is not a HELOC. It is not a second mortgage. And it is not a loan. It is a non-debt solution designed for long-term thinkers who want to exit the dollar without leaving their home.
Here are the different options for a typical homeowner to tap liquidity with dormant home equity:
- Reverse mortgage – high upfront closing costs and compound interest make it the priciest in years 1–30.
- HELOC – efficient in the first decade, but variable rates plus mandatory draws drive up total cost over 20–30 years.
- Horizon – starts below reverse-mortgage cost and, after roughly year 6, becomes the lowest-cost source of long-term financing because its growth rate is capped.
As you can see, Horizon offers the lowest-cost source of home equity diversification for homeowners with a long-term time outlook.
A New Lens on Value
Home equity has long been considered a safe store of wealth. But with the emergence of bitcoin as a preferred store of wealth, continuously holding at least a 23% annual appreciation over multi-year periods, that assumption deserves scrutiny.
If your home is worth fewer and fewer Bitcoin every year, then the real risk is inaction.
Many homeowners already understand this at a portfolio level. Now it is time to apply the same mindset to the largest asset most of us own: our homes.
Install the Chrome Extension
See how Horizon works
Disclaimer: Horizon is a technology company that helps users buy and custody their Bitcoin and does not directly provide financial or investment services. Horizon connects homeowners with licensed home equity investment providers but does not act as an agent or broker for the homeowner or any third party. Homeowners should consult their financial, tax, or legal advisor before making any investment decision. For additional information, please refer to our FAQ, terms and conditions, and our preferred providers' websites.
