Blockchain-Based Smart Contract Escrow for Secure and Transparent Property Transactions

Abstract

Background: Conventional property escrow depends on intermediaries and sequential verification, which can limit transaction visibility and create opportunities for delays, inconsistent records, and disputes. Blockchain-based smart contracts provide an auditable execution environment in which predefined conditions can automatically trigger transactions. Objective: This study designs and tests a blockchain-based property escrow prototype and evaluates its functional contributions to transaction security and transparency. Methods: A prototype-oriented design science approach was employed. A Solidity smart contract was developed in Remix IDE, deployed on a local Ethereum environment using Ganache, connected to user wallets through MetaMask, and monitored through transaction logs. Functional scenarios covered contract deployment, role-based interactions, fund-release logic, transaction recording, and verification of transaction hashes. The security assessment was limited to the implemented access-control and ledger-integrity mechanisms; no formal smart-contract security audit was conducted. Results: The prototype successfully executed the defined escrow functions and generated blockchain records that were traceable through Remix and Ganache logs. Successful execution, reproducible transaction hashes, role-constrained contract calls, and persistent transaction histories were used as functional indicators of automation and transparency. Conclusion: The prototype demonstrates the feasibility of an end-to-end blockchain-based escrow workflow; however, the findings do not establish absolute security or production readiness. Further work should include formal smart-contract security testing, performance benchmarking, regulatory analysis, and validation in real-world property transactions.