Yes and you will have a rough idea of what it will rise to. Higher interest rates maybe a pain for some but if you have not gone crazy they will keep the price low when you buy.

We bought pretty much at the toppish of the boom – but then sold my house at the same time (in an area that in the crash dropped in value by at least 25%).

Looking around my area is quite desirable for families (Good schools nearby, easy commute into London, countryside just 5 mins walk away etc.). A house a bit smaller than ours is up for sale at almost the same price than we paid for ours so I reckon that if we sold it we would get at least what we paid for it

But you should not look at a home as an investment, but as somewhere to live.

+1
You have you live somewhere. The only short term issue is that because interest rates affect house prices, your loan to value ratio may change when you look for a new fixed rate mortgage. Those with more equity get better deals from the banks.

Have always looked as homeas somewhere to live not as an investment
I am not on a fixed rate but a variable of +X over base rate for life of the mtg. Given that the best fixed rate at the moment is around the 4.3% the variable rate would have to go up over 3.5% before I would see any benifit and I dont see it going up that much that quickly

I doubt that it will get up that high that quickly. It could take a couple of years. Though if the economy slows down then the pressure to raise rates may7 evaporate for a year or two. Though that will be disastrous news for savers.

base rate is still at 0.5%

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12700649

yipee