Did you know that roughly half of Australian home loan holders do not know the amount of equity in their property?

To address that, Westpac has recently announced a new customer-centric technology called Wonder.

It works by allowing users to view the amount of equity in their property and can be accessed through its Westpac Live online banking feature.

Wonder also allows home owners and prospective buyers to learn how to reach their property aspirations faster.

According to Westpac’s research, 56% of the surveyed Australian home owners want to know the exact amount of equity in their property, and 43% want to find out how much they can borrow at the click of a button.

The study also discovered that 51% of homeowners with a home loan are not even aware of the amount of equity in their property.
 
"Eligible Westpac customers will be provided with personalised options to unlock the possibilities in their property, to upgrade, renovate or purchase another property. Customers who currently do not have a home loan with Westpac will be able to view what they can currently afford to assist them in getting their foot on the property ladder," said Melanie Evans, general manager of Westpac Service Revolution Transformation.

Wonder, in collaboration with CoreLogic RP Data, will also allow users to search for properties in suburbs they are looking to buy and measure the affordability of properties within the given area.

The service determines affordability based on users’ personalised financial profiles, Westpac’s home loan rates, stamp duty, and other expenses.

Eligible customers can also receive approval in principle for new home loans through the online service. This can be accomplished anytime and anywhere with access to the Internet.

The online service will be gradually introduced to eligible customers from October 2015 to January 2016. Customers will be informed via email when they can use the service.

 

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