I think the OP is making a very relevant point, and he/she is right and we all know that. It is the risk that was taken for short term gain, and the rest is being left to fate. To deny otherwise is a bit like leaving the rice on boil overnight and praying the pan doesn’t scorch.

One answer may be to postpone buying until rates and prices have “normalized’, which if the last few years has taught us anything, it may never happen of course. But as someone else is suggesting the so-called move-up market is an invention of the last few decades, fueled by the massive increases in household debt.

Take heart. Every cloud has a silver lining. The smaller your home, the less stuff you need to buy to fill it. It sounds inane, but little truths have broader overtones.