Quarterly Market Outlook
Malaysian property buyers today are very different from those in the past, and the banking industry has yet to fully adapt to this shifting market landscape. For first-time homeowners, buying a first property is regarded as a significant achievement, whether it is for investment or own use. However, millennials and even Gen Z now make up a growing portion of the available pool of customers, and they have different expectations and requirements when it comes to homeownership.
From our experience in providing services to homebuyers, we have learnt that the large amount of paperwork and the tedious bureaucratic process involved in purchasing a property have proved to be significant barriers to entry for this new generation of homebuyers.
The home purchasing journey is laborious and fraught with challenges, often resulting in unsatisfactory customer experiences, particularly during the mortgage application process. The long turnaround time lack of visibility and transparency on one’s mortgage application status, keeping track of document submissions and the lack of uniformity in the onboarding process have become crucial pain points for customers.
On a more positive note, the Covid-19 pandemic has given banks a strong incentive to provide customers with a digital platform which addresses the key pain points stated above. Convenience and speed — in addition to quality service and low rates — are now top of mind when customers select banks to apply for a mortgage.
To cater to this changing market landscape, RHB Bank has had to rethink and revolutionise the traditional way of applying for a home loan by leveraging digital technology and innovation. In November 2017, we launched RHB MyHome mobile app, the first in ASEAN that enables homebuyers to apply for a home loan digitally.
RHB MyHome App takes away the hassle of going to the bank or physically meeting up with a mortgage consultant. It enables homebuyers to take snapshots of loan supporting documents and submit them through the app in just a few clicks, all in the comfort of their own home.
Homebuyers can also check their loan application status via the app, anytime and anywhere. In addition, the app comes with an approval-in-principle (AIP) feature.
AIP allows homebuyers to obtain pre-approval on their loan application instantly after applying via the app. This allows homeowners to better understand their financial borrowing eligibility before committing to an actual mortgage loan.
Homeowners come from various educational backgrounds with different income levels, and as such, we strive to make homeownership accessible to all Malaysians. The app provides educational content on mortgage and property-related matters, making homeownership easier to understand to less savvy homebuyers.
In addition, homebuyers are able to obtain the latest mortgage rate estimates via an intuitive mortgage simulator in the app. A dedicated RHB mortgage sales consultant will be assigned to each homebuyer who applies for a loan via the RHB MyHome App, providing homebuyers with a single point of contact with additional support and convenience.
The initial cost of purchasing a home may be burdensome to many aspiring homeowners, but completing a home purchase is only half the journey to achieving one’s dream home. Personalising your own space is what transforms a house into a home, and we wish to play a larger role in assisting homebuyers beyond just loan application.
Through the RHB MyHome App, homebuyers can take advantage of our wide range of interior design and renovation services. In our effort to provide exclusive offers, we are collaborating with leading home solution specialists — HomePro, Meridian, Recommend, Infinity and We Build Easy, all of which have their unique design portfolios available on their official websites.
By partnering with multiple home solution specialists, we are able to provide various renovation packages at different prices, making interior design services more accessible to homebuyers with varying budgets while providing a range of design options.
We have also partnered with home improvement service provider Kaodim to provide RHB customers with easy access to services such as home repair and maintenance services, lighting and wiring installation, cleaning and moving service as well as home security. Homeowners will also enjoy additional discounts on Kaodim services when paying with RHB credit cards via KaodimPay through the Kaodim App.
No home is complete without home furnishings and electrical appliances, and we have partnered with merchants such as Senheng, Gintell and Harvey Norman to offer 0% instalment plans of up to 36 months to homeowners who make purchases using the RHB credit card. This allows homeowners to make their purchases earlier, reducing the downtime needed to move into their new home at no additional cost.
RHB also offers homeowners a renovation loan with a margin of finance of up to 95% and a tenure of up to 35 years, with an interest rate lower than that of credit cards and personal loans.
Homeownership in Malaysia has entered a new era, where the expectations of homebuyers have gone beyond property location, price per square foot and property size. A new generation of homebuyers is now placing more importance on lifestyle, convenience and the ability to personalise their own space, and RHB Bank is ready to fulfil these needs in the current market landscape.
The RHB MyHome App was not conceived in isolation but part of a full-scale homeowners’ ecosystem blueprint that encompasses the prospective homebuyer’s end-to-end journey, from the point of discovery to mortgage application and beyond the post-purchase phase. It is but a small step in a continuous journey to improve RHB’s mortgage services.
We believe that such measures are required to stay competitive in a post-Covid-19 environment, in which competition is growing more intense, in tandem with customers’ rising expectations. We are also confident, however, that our solutions, and the methods and steps taken to derive these solutions, are able to address market demands and are a testament to RHB Bank’s ability to address pain points in the marketplace.
Get in touch with RHB Premier today.
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