Well i guess people should take interest rates into account, but they also need somewhere to live.
It has its faults, but renting is another option for having somewhere to live if you can't afford to buy.
There's also the option of moving to a cheaper area (changing job if necessary), or taking a smaller house. A lot of the LBC callers, being as how it's still primarily a London station, were whining about having blown everything on a nice semi in
Metroland - well, that was a bit silly, perhaps Northampton, Aylesbury or Bedford might have made more sense?
In the end we can't always have what we want. When I bought I chose a cheaper area (not rough, but cheaper than a lot of the rest of MK) so I wasn't overstretching. I'm very glad I did now.
(Some people are curiously unwilling to travel. One caller yesterday evening was almost in tears about moving out of Kingston because of all her friends, but there weren't any affordable flats - er, I mean, wha? There'd be flats affordable in her situation not far away, she'd just have to go a stop or two on the train or bus to see her friends etc)