Skip to main content

/Client Story

St.George Property

Helping prospective buyers own their dream property.

A unique digital property platform.

  1. 01Complete product design
  2. 02Conducted intensive user research and testing
  3. 03Built a bespoke iOS app for St George Bank
  4. 04Provided a fast and efficient backend solution
  5. 05Integrated multiple third-party services into the app

Services

Client

St.George Bank

Industry

The Challenge

Within the Australian property market, there’s been a rise in the popularity of end-to-end digital experiences for prospective home buyers, taking them from search to move and manage within a single product. 

Westpac Bank recognised this as an opportunity to add value for customers by injecting finance into the end-to-end homeowner’s value chain and offering a connected property purchasing experience. They approached us to help them build a property app that would leverage their existing St.George Property brand and facilitate their customers’ homeownership goals.

The Solution

In collaboration with Westpac, we produced a bespoke St.George property app for iOS, powered by our Sauce backend solution. In the discovery phase, we worked with Westpac to identify three main user personas that would be targeted by the app: first-time home buyers, next home buyers and buyers who are looking to upgrade from their current home to a new one. 

With similar apps already gaining traction in-market, we knew that the app would need to have a special edge over its competitors. This was partly accomplished through partnerships that Westpac Bank established to widen the scope of functionality within the experience.

A partnership with CoreLogic allows the app to consume data and provide the relevant information for customers to see. This includes market price estimates and market insights: for example, users can learn whether a particular suburb is a buyer or a seller’s market. Through a partnership with Movinghub, users are able to set up property utilities within the experience. 

Overall, feedback from users was strongly positive; the app drew favourable comparisons with similar property search services. Users appreciated the app’s streamlined search functionality, and the ability to pinpoint the perfect property through multiple specific filters. The app appealed not only to users who have a clear idea of what they want but also those who are looking to explore and browse through a wide range of options.

We built the UI designs on a foundation of clarity and simplicity, ensuring that the app would be visually appealing, but more importantly that it would be easy to navigate — all while aligning with the St.George brand guidelines. We imbued the design with the existing St.George brand, updating and modifying existing visual elements to suit the app.

The Result

Post-launch, the St.George Property iOS app is providing Australian homebuyers and aspiring homeowners with a new way to browse property listings, tying it into their overall financial journey. It incorporates St.George’s online borrowing calculator and digital mortgage capabilities, allowing users to apply for home loans online. The app has been downloaded over 1,000 times without the need for a marketing campaign, and is gaining popularity in a competitive market.

/Next Client Story

Villo

Creating a next-generation visitor management system.