The number of houses sold in the UK this year is on track to be the lowest since 2012, according to property website Zoopla.
Around one million sales are set to be completed this year, with transactions almost a fifth lower than in 2022.
The average rate on a two-year fixed mortgage deal is now 6.74%, according to the financial information service Moneyfacts. The typical rate for a longer five-year deal is 6.22%.
Mortgage costs today are much higher than the ultra-low rates of less than 2% many homeowners enjoyed in previous years.
The Bank of England has increased its benchmark rate 14 times in a row to reach its current level of 5.25% as it tries to control inflation.
Zoopla said sales of smaller, more-affordable properties have not been hit as badly as transactions involving three and four-bedroom homes.
Buy-to-let
Purchases of buy-to-let homes have also been squeezed by higher mortgage rates.
Meanwhile the cost of renting has risen sharply against a backdrop of more costly mortgages, with many tenants struggling to find affordable housing.
Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, told the BBC: "While UK house prices are 0.1% higher over the year, it is the number of sales that have been hit hardest by higher borrowing costs, especially amongst mortgage-reliant buyers," he said.
He added that rates need to fall below 5% if the market is to see an "increased appetite to move home" by the end of the year.
Least-affordable
According to data from the Halifax, for all buyers,London has the least-affordable homes, priced at 9.3 times average earnings, with mortgage repayments taking up 49% of earnings.
North-east of England, with properties priced at 4.9 times average earnings, and Scotland, with houses priced at five times average earnings, have the most-affordable homes.
Inverclyde - where homes cost 2.9 times average earnings - is recorded as having the most-affordable homes of any local authority area.