Mortgage rates rising — would you buy now or sit tight?

[BeQuaintLion]

Just wondering how others who are currently looking to buy are feeling with all the news about mortgage rates going up and potentially rising further.

Are you still going ahead, waiting it out to see if interest rates drop, or hoping house prices might come down?

I’m on the brink of buying, deposit saved up etc, and now I’m really not sure what to do. It’s taken a lot of hard work to get to this point but it feels like a particularly bad time to be taking the plunge.

I know nobody has a crystal ball and there’s
probably never a perfect time, but I keep going between wanting to get on with it and wondering whether I should hold off for a bit.

Anyone else in the same boat? What are you doing?

You don"t need a mortgage debt to get on with your life though, more and more people are awake to this, more and more young people are living at home and building savings, once you have the large mortgage debt (most people don"t want a 50k flat above a chip shop in a rough town) you are stuck with it through potential interest rate rises, most people won"t fix for ten years because they are conditioned to think that rates should always be low or going down.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/oct/19/uk-first-time-buyers-paying-more-mortgage-rent

Get some perspective. 44% were paying less. And of those paying more, the average was £39. It's time to stop making noise and let people make sensible decisions for themselves.

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/uk-mortgage-approvals-hit-33-102225537.html

Yes, but interest rates are not high yet, and immigration could drop a lot further, mortgage costs could go up a lot more and rent could fall a lot more.

Yes, and if that is too scary for you or anyone else then just fix at a level you are comfortable with and accept that you may be paying a premium for some certainty. None of this is earth-shattering or a reason not to purchase if you can comfortably afford to.

But if you are staying at home and saving the average is not "£39", you are saving the full cost of the initial debt and the interest on the debt needed to join a massive housing bubble/Ponzi, once you take the mortgage that is it, you are paying back with interest for the next 30 years, most of the basic housing in the UK is not really worth that commitment at today"s prices, which is why prices need to crash back to more sensible levels.

You've still got your SE specs on, which I agree is vastly over-priced. Elsewhere, affordability rates (<= 5 time salary) are increasing. Don't forget that static prices and increasing wages will also do the trick.

Sales volume is the best indicator of affordability/demand IMO.

Sales volume is pretty constant post GFC. Are you forecasting a marked change? And when?

Much lower if mortgage rates go up again until house prices are at more normal levels, of course the 50k flat above a chip shop in AnyRoughTown will always sell to someone.