Mortgage interest rates have reached a 12-year high with no signs of slowing down.

The steep increase means that most people would have to give more money to the bank for taking out a loan.

That leaves many determining if they should strike before interest rates increase even more or wait for the market to stabilize.

Rob and Briana Pechin have been looking for a home in Long Beach for a year, and say every month, rates go up.

According to NerdWallet, the average rate on a 30-year fixed loan was 3.18% on January 3. The rate is 5.23% as of Thursday.

That means borrowing $400,000 would put a monthly mortgage payment from $1,726 to $2,204

Robert Bran with Luxury Mortgage Corp. predicts rates will keep climbing, especially after the Fed chairman signaled a half point increase next month.

He says if buyers have good credit scores, they could find lower rates.

Joyce Coletti, of Douglas Elliman Real Estate, says the inventory is so low that people still bid immediately.

"They usually get outbid," Coletti says. But then of course, I get them up. I'm in bidding wars every day."

Experts say to buy now if you can.

"You quote our rate to someone, and they look at the numbers, and the next day it's changed, and the numbers are going up again," Bran says

People can buy points, which is a fee equal to 1% of a total loan, in exchange for a reduced rate.

Refinancing could also be an option for some if rates come back down.