Google searches for ‘help with mortgage’ surge to the highest level on record

Americans aren’t missing mortgage payments en masse — but they are increasingly worried they will.

Google searches for phrases like “help with mortgage” have surged to their highest levels on record, even eclipsing peaks seen during the 2008 housing crash, according to Google Trends data. 

The spike comes as elevated borrowing costs and rising household expenses stretch budgets, offering a new window into the financial anxiety brewing beneath an otherwise steady housing market.

On paper, the system is holding up. Mortgage delinquency rates remain relatively low by historical standards, and foreclosure activity has yet to show any dramatic surge. But early signs of strain are beginning to surface, particularly among more vulnerable borrowers.

“We’ve seen a slight uptick in delinquency rates,” Sam Chandan, founding director of NYU Stern’s Chao-Hon Chen Institute for Global Real Estate Finance, told The Post. Still, he cautioned that the increase is modest, and “nothing that raises red flags across the board.”

The latest available data shows delinquency rates rising by roughly 25 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2025, with serious delinquencies — loans more than 90 days overdue — also edging higher. Even so, Chandan emphasized that current conditions remain far from crisis territory, noting the market is “not at the levels that we observed during the great financial crisis.”

Instead, the surge in mortgage-related searches may reflect something more subtle: concern before actual distress.

“A lot of households … even if they haven’t missed a payment, are feeling some nervousness around how they’re going to meet a range of different demands on household income,” Chandan said.

That anxiety is being fueled by forces beyond the mortgage itself. While many homeowners locked in fixed rates, other housing-related costs — from insurance to property taxes — have climbed, while everyday expenses like energy and food continue to eat into budgets.

“If there’s more going to energy, it’s going to be a little bit harder to pay for these other things,” he said, adding that “some of it is anticipatory.”

“Part of it is also that we’ve seen a clear weakening in the job market. For a lot of folks, an interruption of their primary income leaves them very vulnerable.”

In other words, homeowners aren’t necessarily falling behind, but they’re increasingly worried they might.

The pressure is not evenly distributed. Data shows the most pronounced stress among lower-income borrowers and first-time buyers, particularly those with FHA loans. Delinquency rates in that segment have climbed sharply in recent years, rising from roughly 7.5% in late 2023 to about 11.5% more recently.

“These are generally going to be more lower-income buyers,” Chandan said, noting that many have limited savings to cushion against disruptions like job loss or unexpected expenses.

“A lot of households, particularly first-time homebuyers and folks with FHA loans, may have very limited emergency funds or emergency savings to tide them over any kind of disruption,” he added.

Geography also plays a role. States including Louisiana, Mississippi and West Virginia are seeing higher rates of both early- and late-stage delinquencies, reflecting weaker income growth and softer housing demand in those regions.

A closer look at Google Trends data shows the surge is especially pronounced in California, where searches for “help with mortgage” have climbed to their highest levels on record in recent months. The spike reflects mounting pressure in one of the nation’s most expensive housing markets, where high home prices, insurance costs and property taxes continue to strain household budgets. As affordability remains stretched and cost burdens rise, the data suggests financial stress may be intensifying more sharply in California than in other parts of the country.

New York, also a high-cost market, has seen more uneven search activity over time, with recent increases that are notable but less dramatic than the spike seen in California. The gap suggests that while affordability pressures are widespread, the intensity of financial strain may be hitting some regions harder than others.

At the same time, broader affordability challenges continue to weigh on the market. Mortgage rates hovering near multi-decade highs have pushed monthly payments out of reach for many would-be buyers, while inventory shortages — particularly at the entry level — limit options.

The result is a housing market that appears stable in data but is under growing pressure at the margins.

“While we see some uptick in distress in the housing market, conditions remain stable, very generally stable,” Chandan said.

Still, the surge in mortgage help searches suggests that stability may be more fragile than it looks. For many households, the strain is already being felt — even if it hasn’t yet fully translated into missed payments or forced sales.

The growing wave of online searches points to a shift in sentiment that could become harder to ignore in the months ahead.

“Even though there’s some softness in pricing, we still face real issues around affordability,” Chandan said.

“The median age of a first time homebuyer is now 40 years old. That tells you a lot about what’s going on with affordability.”