For the first time in at least ten years, a clear majority of buyers on the first rung of the property ladder are worse off month to month than they were as tenants. Estate agent Hamptons reports that in September, 56% of first-time buyers said their mortgage bills were higher than the rent they had been paying - the largest proportion in at least a decade. On average, those buyers paid £39 more each month on their mortgage than on their previous rent.

The squeeze is sharpest for older buyers. Among first-time buyers in their 40s:

• •67% took on a mortgage more expensive than their rent
• •their monthly costs averaged 18% higher than their previous rent

Mortgage rates climb above 6%

The shift is rooted in borrowing costs. Since the outbreak of war in the Middle East, bond market volatility has driven up swap rates, which shape the pricing of fixed-rate mortgage deals. Earlier this month the average five-year fixed-rate mortgage reached the 6% barrier for the first time in three years. Per Moneyfacts, on Monday morning the average five-year fixed rate stood at 5.99%, while the average two-year fixed rate was 5.96%.

Hamptons researcher on buying vs renting

Aneisha Beveridge, Hamptons' head of research, noted that when rates were low, the financial case for tenants to buy as soon as they could was fairly straightforward. Higher rates have now changed that picture.

She said the long-term benefits of home ownership remain, but the immediate monthly saving from buying has largely disappeared.

Rents keep rising too

Tenants face their own squeeze. Newly agreed rents across Great Britain rose 2.7% year on year in September, the fastest pace in almost two years:

• •the average national rent stands at £1,433 a month, up from £1,396 a year earlier
• •in Greater London, the average rent on new lets was £2,357, up 1.5% year on year
• •southern England saw the largest rise, up 3.7% to £1,419

So far, Beveridge said, higher rents have mainly affected tenants moving home, but continued growth is likely to feed through to more existing tenants in the coming months as the gap between new and existing rents widens.