Should NAB’s latest fixed home loan rate rise spark borrowers to action?

National Australia Bank (NAB) has increased the interest rates across a number of its fixed home loan terms this morning by between 5 and 10 basis points.

The increases apply to 2, 3 and 4-year fixed rate terms on the NAB Tailored Home Loan and Tailored Home Loan (Choice Package) products for owner occupiers. 1 and 5-year rates were left unchanged though.

As a result, the updated fixed rates available for new customers will be as follow:

NAB is not the only member of the big four to have recently lifted rates though. Back in May, the Commonwealth Bank added 5bp to its 3 and 4-year fixed rates.

And earlier this month, ANZ increased its 4-year fixed rates by 25bp and its 5-year fixed rates by 45bp, while Westpac pushed both its 2 and 3-year fixed home loan rates for owner occupiers up by 10bp.

Is now the time to lock in?

Taking a broader look at the fixed rate landscape, a large number of lenders have lifted their longer (4 and 5-year terms) fixed rates in the past few months.

As the graph below shows, this trend is reflected in the 4 and 5-year fixed rate averages in the Mozo database for owner occupiers, both of which have noticeably increased since reaching low points in March.

However, shorter term fixed rates (1, 2 and 3-years) have continued to edge down. In fact, the June averages for those terms are at their lowest points since tracking began in 2015.

So the big question for borrowers, especially those thinking about locking in a rate on their home loan , is how long these relatively low fixed rates are likely to stay for?

ANZ, the Commonwealth Bank and NAB have all recently forecasted that the Reserve Bank will start to increase the official cash rate later in 2022 - earlier than they had previously indicated.

That’s well ahead of the RBA’s own outlook that interest rates won’t start to rise until 2024, but as Mozo’s banking expert Peter Marshall says, banks and other lenders will start to make their moves based on their own forecasts.

“I think that if the lenders think the cash rate is going to go up they will be putting up their rates, regardless of what the Reserve Bank says about the timing of future rate increases.”

When it comes to locking in a rate, Marshall believes that the present moment could be a good opportunity.

“If borrowers take into account the restrictions (including early repayment fees and additional repayment limits) and they can get an interest rate that they are comfortable with, it's a good time to look at long term fixed rates.”

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Curious about how the rates on offer from NAB and the other big four stack up against other lenders?

Get started by checking out some of the great offers in the table below, or head on over to our fixed rate comparison hub to compare even more home loan deals.

^^Average fixed home loan rates for owner occupiers are based on loans tracked in the Mozo database and the following borrower scenario: a $400,000 loan with an 80% loan-to-value ratio and principal and interest repayments.