RealT's tokenized real estate empire is mired in a mess of unfinished projects and lawsuits in Detroit.

PANews reported on March 17th that, according to WIRED, RealT, a tokenized real estate platform founded by Canadian brothers, sold properties in Detroit and other locations to over 16,000 investors worldwide by splitting them into crypto tokens worth approximately $50 each, claiming annualized returns of up to 12%. Its portfolio once reached approximately $150 million, and it touted itself as "one of the world's largest real estate tokenization platforms." Since 2024, the Detroit city government has filed civil lawsuits against RealT and its 165 related LLCs, accusing them of hundreds of urban "blight" violations, unpaid taxes, and alleging that at least 408 properties lacked compliance certificates and suffered from serious disrepair, leaks, and fire hazards. Some properties were even occupied by gangs acting as "unlicensed landlords." The court subsequently prohibited RealT from collecting rent or evicting tenants until the properties were restored to compliance. RealT, however, blamed the property management companies and local partners, denying systemic neglect. RealT is currently planning to sell a large number of properties and suspend rental income distribution to global investors, while shifting its focus to issuing "preconstruction" tokens in Colombia and Panama.