Digital services & trends for real estate
According to ti&m 2020, almost one in two banking customers would like to have information on contracts and current costs in their banking app. More than one in four are interested in functions such as household calculators and budget planners. The representative study by ti&m 2020 shows that additional digital services from banks are particularly in demand among younger users.
Not only the customer but also banks benefit from digital developments: “New PropTech players offering services related to residential property are agile thanks to digital tools, network and can thus benefit from each other. This is how real estate ecosystems are created that network brokers, mortgage brokers, tax advisors, asset managers or real estate managers “, knows blog author Frank Butz.
Data is the gold of the future. Without data, it is hardly possible today to advertise in a targeted manner, especially in online marketing. Therefore, banks and savings banks are increasingly building on the use of digital services that go beyond online banking – “Beyond Banking” is the mantra of the industry.
With HomeFox, Berliner Sparkasse is laying the foundation for more digital services and data points in its real estate business in order to create data-based offers in the future that are precisely tailored to their customers’ needs.
HomeFox – from the first idea to relaunch
Idea and innovation workshops create space for creativity. “Think outside the box.” – Two participants at an innovation workshop at the House of Innovation in Munich took this literally and the idea for a real estate platform was born. Gebhard Koths and Alexander Hahn then launched the first HomeFox platform in 2015 and successfully marketed it in German-speaking countries.
As we all know, the digital world turns fast. User and UX/UI design trends no less and so it was time for the next HomeFox update in 2018. Together with Berliner Sparkasse (BSK), represented by Daniela Gommert, Innovation Lab Birds Nest, and Brian Rotgers, Risk Management and Legal, among others, HYVE worked closely with Homefox and BSK to develop a platform that accompanies and guides Sparkasse customers along the entire real estate cycle. A platform that manages documents, organizes teams, stores contacts, and provides inspiration and guidance.
HomeFox 2.0 – Customer-centric developments with Berliner Sparkasse
For Sparkassen in Germany (saving banks), the real estate market is becoming an increasingly important business case. For the most part, savings banks’ customer contact is limited to the financing phase of a customer’s life cycle. Therefore, savings banks have a great interest in extending the contact points beyond the financing phase.
Since the Berliner Sparkasse launched the innovation incubator “Birds Nest”, the identification of new solutions for relevant customer needs has been at the center of its activity. Already in 2017, there was an exchange between HomeFox and the Berliner Sparkasse, followed by a comprehensive further development of the beta version by HYVE and Berliner Sparkasse. With the advancement of digitalization, Berliner Sparkasse wanted to create a platform that would provide customers with a helpful tool for real estate projects while creating more visibility for their services.
With HomeFox, HYVE, in close cooperation with Berliner Sparkasse, has succeeded in creating a platform that not only offers users a helpful tool for managing their real estate projects, but also enables savings banks, their partners and other players in the real estate industry (craftsmen, lawyers, etc.) to market their products and services at the right points in the real estate lifecycle.
Moreover, HomeFox is not just a real estate project management tool. It is an ecosystem of banks, real estate agents, craftsmen, insurers, and all real estate players. A one-stop shop for people interested in real estate, home builders, and those who want to sell their property.
Development services by HYVE
The HYVE team has further developed the platform in a user-centric way and visually adapted it to the revised HomeFox brand. HYVE’s UX design team created a new corporate identity for HomeFox for the relaunch, which can be used on the platform as well as on all communication materials.
In the early design phases, a comprehensive and detailed design library was created via the Figma tool and used as the basis for a modern, uniform and consistent interface.
The entire project was set up and realized in the agile development process in a sprint logic. In close coordination, individual user stories were implemented and released by the customer.
The frontend was created as a modern single-page application with Vue.js to be flexible for future extensions. Also, the Python backend via cloud hosting at AWS allows reacting automatically and flexibly to different traffic requirements.
An interface to the e-mail dispatch tool enables from now on reliable e-mail communication and newsletter dispatch with the users of HomeFox. Furthermore, the HYVE team supports the marketing of the tool to the savings banks customers with creative approaches as well as the further distribution of the tool.
If you are looking for digital services for your real estate business, please contact us.
