There have been big changes in customer behaviour in recent years. Though retail trading's brisk, customers are now more inclined to check out the lay of the land online before buying – and then they sometimes err towards an online purchase. And sauce for retail is sauce for real estate. The whys and wherefores of an emerging trend.
High street trading versus online stores
A survey by Devimo Consult finds that the supposed pattern of going and trying something on in a store before then buying it online is not yet established in this country: despite our small size and with Internet coverage among the highest anywhere, seven out of ten Belgians don't do it. And the same proportion also don't check what's available online before heading up the high street. However, despite the fact that 'going shopping' still counts as a leisure activity for something over half the populace, traders are seeing the shifts in their behaviour. They realise that customers are on the lookout for online solutions and retailers will have to up their pace to meet their customers' increasingly exacting demands.
Simpler processes for your property projects
The trend gradually taking root in retail is well known to you. Let's say you needed a new pair of glasses, or a coat for the winter months. The chance is good you'd start by looking up what's available online (and what it costs, of course). Once you'd made your choice you'd like as not go along to the shops you'd identified as 'probables' to put your search results into practice. Finally, with price the decider, the selection would fall on either your bricks and mortar candidate in the high street or your online supplier.
Okay, we know you can't compare buying clothes to buying a house or a flat, but, still, the advances made by KBC Brussels in simplifying its processes and putting them online mean that the gap between the two has nonetheless closed somewhat.
Thus, when you decide to buy real estate, the first thing you do is go online to look and see what the market's offering. Your taste, needs and budget as guides, you pick out a list of possibles and set off to view and rate them.
In the past, the next thing was to visit the bank and ask how much you could borrow, choose your preferred loan type and finally sign the home loan documents.
All of these particular processes you can now do online!
Work out the cost online
Use the KBC Brussels online calculator during your preliminary researches to figure out what kind of purse you have for your home project and then again, once you found your new home sweet home, to hone the exact terms of your future home loan. You can save your simulations and call them up again any time you need to check anything.
So, are you raring to go make your dream home project a reality? In just a few clicks, you can find out in detail how much you can borrow and what your monthly payments will look like.
Contact KBC Brussels Live for confirmation
Found that cosy nook you always dreamt of? Now's the time to contact the experts at KBC Brussels Live to put flesh on the bones of your home project and complete your file. Simplicity itself on the KBC Brussels website.
Sign online
Loan approved and file all in order? Then all you need do is sign for your home loan. And you can do that online, too (go to the KBC Brussels Touch and Mobile apps). You don't even need to go to your branch. Because we're only too aware of how much time and energy it takes putting a new roof over your head.
Find out more
- Credit type: Mortgage loan for immovable property provided by the lender KBC Bank NV, Havenlaan 2, 1080 Brussels, VAT BE 0462.920.226, RLP Brussels. Subject to your loan application being approved by KBC Bank NV.
- In the prospectus, you will find information on:
- Terms
- Fixed or variable interest rate
- Steps in the lending process
- Early repayment and the reinvestment fee
- Charges
- Still have questions? Ask the Housing expert at KBC Brussels Live