Also, on the topic of house prices increasing. With the minimum wage increases a couple working full time on minimum wage can now be approved to borrow £228k+ comfortably. That is going to lead to higher prices...

Surely the average mortgage rate increasing is the lag of anyone still on a low 5 year fixed rate with a maturity roughly up to mid 2027. So the 'average' rate is indeed increasing (from the low pre 2022ish rates) and that not new mortgage debt rates are increasing (as implied).