Buying a house- a stressful time

I am currently in the process of buying a house and before this I did not fully understand the oft-repeated statement that buying a house is one of the most stressful things you can do. But now I understand it too well.

There are all kinds of anxieties and incoherent uncertainties circulating in my head. Have I made the right decision? Is the house in the right location? Have I got a good mortgage and insurance deal? My worst fear, which sets my heart racing and head pounding, is about interest rates rocketing and house prices collapsing. Negative equity. There has been talk in the press of this happening for some time and it is what restrained me, with hindsight to my disadvantage, from entering the housing market sooner. And yet still house prices went up and up. Some of my fears may be irrational, but even my superficial knowledge of economic history tells me that anything that goes up uncontrollably does so unsustainably.

On the other side of the coin, there are plenty of redemptive thoughts. There is plenty of latent demand, which, given a small let up in price rises, would provide a further impetus to the market. It can also be argued that prices have gone up so much over the past two years that any small falls could be absorbed within the rises. Under this scenario, only those who entered the market immediately before the falls would lose out.

I cannot, however, continue having this debate with myself for ever. At 32, I am already quite late in entering the market.