I see absolutely no risk in signing a 1-year lease right now.
If rents drop significantly over the next 12 months (unlikely), you won’t want to buy a year from now anyway. If rents go up, and it looks like the time for you to buy is in 6 months (also highly unlikely) then I’m sure the landlord will let you out and fill their rental with a tenant at a higher-rent.
It’s really a win-win right now in either case for you.
