DBS Bank has launched an online property marketplace that aggregates close to 100,000 listings from EdgeProp and Averspace, it said yesterday.
The DBS Property Marketplace is intended as a one-stop shop where home buyers can browse listings and link up with utilities providers, as well as renovation, cleaning and moving services.
DBS said it will also work with partners to figure out how it can digitalise the conveyancing process.
One feature of the home financial planner available on the DBS marketplace is that buyers can determine the impact that a property purchase will have on their monthly cash flow, calculated based on how much they intend to pay from both their Central Provident Fund money and cash deposits, the bank said.
The bank hopes to double the number of property listings on the portal by the year end, when listings from SoReal are added.
DBS is not the only bank trying to spread its digital footprint.
In January, OCBC Bank launched OCBC OneAdvisor, an online portal that lets buyers do a home search based on affordability criteria. For listings, OCBC has partnered EdgeProp and is in talks with 99.co.
Also in January, SRX Property launched Web app Unlock myHome's Wealth, which also has one-stop-shop features.
Buyers can apply for a mortgage online via SRX and they are not restricted to loans offered by DBS. SRX is run by StreetSine Technology Group, a Singapore Press Holdings subsidiary.
DBS launched the DBS Car Marketplace a year ago, and the DBS Electricity Marketplace in March this year.
The bank said its large retail consumer base enables it to build marketplaces with "robust ecosystems" in partnership with small and medium-sized enterprises.
Ms Tok Geok Peng, DBS' head of secured lending, said the bank also intends to use customers' information in a "contextual manner".
"For example, if I know that a customer has been looking at property every night, it tells us how serious he is as a property buyer.
"So we can reach out to him in a thoughtful manner and give him advice, that perhaps it's time get approval-in-principle (required by a bank) before you commit on an option to purchase," she said.
