A comprehensive solution guiding both new and existing customers through every step of the homeownership journey — from saving for the deposit to loan application and managing existing loans.
Buying a home is one of the most complex financial journeys a person undertakes — and for most customers, it spans years. NAB needed a feature within its app that could meaningfully serve a customer whether they were just beginning to save for a deposit, actively applying for a loan, or already managing an existing mortgage or property portfolio.
The challenge was designing a single, cohesive experience that adapted to each customer's state — seamlessly transitioning between life stages without requiring customers to find a new tool or re-establish context every time their situation changed.
Mapped the complete homeownership lifecycle across six customer states — from first saving for a deposit, through mortgage application milestones, to managing an active loan and expanding a property portfolio.
Interviews with customers at different stages of homeownership. Identified the key anxieties, decisions, and information needs at each state — and defined what "helpful" looked like at each point in the journey.
Designed state-adaptive screens that evolve with each customer's progress. From deposit goal tracking and calculators for aspiring buyers, to loan application step indicators, to property and repayment management for existing loan holders.
Usability testing with participants at multiple stages of homeownership. Iterated on the savings goal setup flow, application progress visibility, and the transition between states to ensure the experience felt continuous, not disjointed.
Home Base was designed around the reality that a NAB customer's homeownership situation changes significantly over time. A customer who opens the feature for the first time with no savings goal sees a motivating prompt to set a target and explore tools. The same feature, once a deposit is tracked and a loan application is underway, transforms into a progress tracker — surfacing the customer's current application step, documents outstanding, and estimated timeline.
For customers with an active loan, Home Base shifts again — becoming a management hub showing repayment details, equity, and property value estimates alongside quick-access tools for refinancing and repayment calculations. Customers managing a property portfolio see a consolidated view of all holdings in a single place.
Each state was designed to feel like a natural evolution of the same trusted feature — not a different screen discovered by accident.