Is it worth buying in 2026 or should we wait?

My partner and I have been saving for 3 years now and have about £45k for a deposit. We're looking around the £300-350k range in the South East.

Prices seem to have plateaued a bit but interest rates are still higher than we'd like. Our mortgage broker is quoting us around 4.2% on a 5-year fix.

Part of me thinks we should just go for it — we're paying £1,400/month in rent which is basically dead money. But then I read articles about potential price corrections and wonder if we'd be buying at the top.

Anyone else in a similar boat? What are you doing?