Following the launch of its own mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), South African bank First National Bank has announced the introduction of an online property tool for its customers.

On Tuesday the bank said the new service, FNB Property Leader will give customers step-by-step advice and solutions to manage the entire property process from buying to selling.

Potential homeowners can receive pre-approval within seconds, reads a statement.

"We have been developing the FNB Property Leader concept over the last couple of years and we are delighted to launch the site today," said Marius Marais, chief executive officer of FNB Home Loans.

"...This tool is a way to hold the consumer's hand throughout the entire process from before starting to look for a first house to when it is time to sell," added Marais.

"The system checks the customer's credit score and, depending on customer's risk profile and affordability, automatically creates a pre-approval letter which serves as a provisional guarantee giving the buyer the necessary negotiating power," he explained.

According to the statement the site also offers free area and property reports that are pulled from a number of sources including the Deeds Office to give a comprehensive overview of a suburb or particular house.

Area reports include details such as average house prices in the area, average increase or decrease in property prices, the types of homes and profile of the buyers.

A property report includes the last bought and sold price of the property as well as an estimated current value calculated through a model developed for the FNB Property Leader site.

"This type of information is invaluable to any home owner in order to make informed decisions when buying or selling. Buyers will be able to determine fair value of the property by comparing properties with others recently sold. Those looking to sell can determine a fair listing price that will speed up the selling process," Marais concludes.