Mortgage rates just hit 6%. Should I still sell this autumn?

If you were planning to put your home on the market this autumn, the mortgage headlines of the past week will have given you pause. They should prompt a rethink of your price, not necessarily of your plan.

What has happened to mortgage rates?

A fixed-rate mortgage is a loan whose interest rate stays the same for a set period, usually two or five years. On 5 October 2026 Moneyfacts reported that the average five-year fix had reached 6.00%, the highest since late September 2023, and the average two-year fix 5.98%, the highest since mid-December 2023.

The cheaper end of the market has almost gone. Moneyfacts counted 1,494 fixed deals priced below 5% on 1 September and just nine on 5 October. Lenders blamed rising gilt yields and volatile swap rates, which are the wholesale costs they pay to fund fixed loans.

How much less can a buyer borrow at 6%?

Borrowing power is the loan a buyer can repay from the monthly sum they can afford. We worked it through on a standard repayment mortgage over 25 years, using February's average five-year rate of 4.94% and today's 6.00%.

The same arithmetic works the other way. A £250,000 loan costs about £1,453 a month at 4.94% and about £1,611 at 6.00%, which matches Moneyfacts' own figure of £158 a month extra. That is the squeeze your future buyer is feeling.

This does not mean prices fall by 10%. Many buyers have bigger deposits, some are cash buyers, and some will stretch. It means the buyer pool at any given price is thinner than it was in the spring, and an optimistic price is easier to miss.

Are homes still selling?

Yes. Rightmove's September report, published on 21 September 2026, found that 61% of homes listed found a buyer, taking an average of 64 days, with asking prices up 0.7% to £367,440. The same report found the most homes for sale in 12 years, so buyers have choice.

Nationwide's index, published on 1 October 2026, put annual price growth at 0.8% in September, down from 1.6% in August, with prices down 0.2% in the month. The Bank of England counted 54,900 mortgage approvals for house purchase in August, the fewest since December 2023.

A 6% market still sells homes. It just stops forgiving a price set on last spring's evidence.

Should I wait until mortgage rates come down?

Only if your move can genuinely wait and you are comfortable that nobody knows when rates will fall. Rates moved down through much of 2025 and up again this year; a forecast is not a plan.

Waiting also has a cost if you are buying as well as selling. The home you want is priced in the same market as yours, so a softer market often helps you on the purchase about as much as it costs you on the sale. Most movers feel the difference only on the extra borrowing, not the whole price.

Who should still list this autumn, and who might wait?

What should I do before I decide?

How do I find out what my home is worth today?

ValuQ gives UK homeowners free, side-by-side property valuations from competing local estate agents. You stay anonymous until you choose an agent, and it is free, always.

In a market where the monthly sums have changed this quickly, seeing several local agents' honest view of today's price, side by side, is the calmest way to decide whether this autumn is your moment or whether waiting makes sense. The decision, and the timing, stay with you.