I will try to give you some answers… I mean opinions that may serve to be helpful… but again are only opinions…
First off, if you have to sell all of your securities to buy a home I would rethink that strategy. Draining all of your investments to afford a home is not something I would recommend. So you are wise to not follow that path.
Wouldn’t high mortgage rates benefit people capable of putting 20% down?
In theory yes but it will take time and like just about every other answer I give, this one entails the same description. You need to run the numbers. Even having 20% down may not be enough money if the rates go high enough. To me it will be a rubber band. That is rates will go high, and pricing will not compensate initially to offset the rate gain. Then over time the prices will come down enough to offset the the rate hikes.
You are on the right track. It would seem intuitive that rate hikes are inevitable in order to start building some value into our currency. At least in my small brain it seems this should have happened a long time ago but what do I know?
Anyways, you are correct, the buyers pool may be reduced due to harsher conditions but then again, astute buyers who are on the sidelines and pooling up cash will start coming in especially if prices go low enough to cash flow for rental properties. That is not likely to happen for awhile though.