Having banks at the center point of every home buying journey is essential in every well-regulated market as most people rely on them in order to be able to buy a property.
Banks and buyers have to work in synergy in order for the deal to be successful. However, most Bulgarian buyers usually visit banks at the end of the buying journey. This results in lost time, money and energy and in some cases – unfavourable outcome.
That’s why banks should broaden their products and services beyond traditional mortgage, insurance and refinancing in order to address the entire customer journey. They could also assist their clients in market research, renting out their home, selling it and more.
This leads to a few outcomes:
1. Increased customer satisfaction
As they take a more involved approach in the housing journey, banks will inevitably deepen their understanding of customers’ needs and preferences. Building such an ecosystem will result in a time and money saving solution for them and thus – in greater customer satisfaction.
Banks already have a good rapport with customers and are a trusted financial partner. If they broaden their scope of work and support clients throughout the journey they could build that trust and relationship even more.
2. Bigger market share
Buying a home is a time-consuming and often exhausting work, that depends on various service providers. When lenders focus only on the financial aspects and don’t consider the full scope of the process, they are unable to solve customers’ problems. There is economic potential in creating a housing ecosystem that solves these problems.
By covering the full housing journey, banks can not only make sure they keep their current mortgage revenues, but build new adjacent revenue streams and attract new customers that would otherwise be unavailable.
3. Early recognition of market trends
Mortgage lending is one of the main activity for banks, so naturally having more and better information is always high priority. A clever way to collect such data is by working closely with customers during every step of their housing journey. A housing ecosystem that is bank-centered is also a great way to lower risk in volatile situations.
4. The solution: creating dskhome.bg
Following OTP Startup Lab ocenime.bg and DSK Bulgaria created a new platform that allows the bank to enter the home-buying process much earlier than usual. The concept is that DSK Bulgaria provides a housing ecosystem that accompanies the clients throughout their housing journey.
In May 2021 dskhome.bg was live and provided visitors with thousands of fresh listings. The goal of the pilot was to put the bank at the beginning of the process, making it run smoother and more securely.
The pilot version of the website has been a successful step towards transforming the real estate buying process in Bulgaria.
The website provides many unique features, such as:
- Search by monthly mortgage payment
- Free market analysis
- Automated online appraisal
- Mortgage calculators and more
A new version of dskhome.bg is launching soon, including more elaborate features that will make DSK the first housing ecosystem platform in Bulgaria. Clients will be able to sign in and access many new services, provided by the bank. Some of them include:
- Contract templates and useful documentation
- Video and phone consultation with a banker
- Consultations with appraisers and lawyers
dskhome.bg helps customers during every phase: research, choosing an apartment, buying process, mortgage application and refinancing.
