Online queries about mortgage help reclaim levels from 2008 housing crisis

On paper, many things are going right with the market, with indexes and crypto trading higher, while gold sets new records. However, some are feeling the pain, as “help with mortgage” searches spike to levels not seen since 2008. 

Google searches for “help with mortgage” have spiked to levels not seen since the 2008 debt crisis. Recent searches repeated the spike from early 2020, when lockdowns created economic uncertainty. This time around, the distress signal arrives at a moment when assets are showing bullish signs, while gold reflects the demand for a safe haven. 

Even if the terms may be ambiguous, this time around, both “help with mortgage” and “help with payment” searches follow a similar trend, with spikes coinciding with the 2008 financial crisis and the Covid crisis. Regionally, searches are most common in the USA and the UK, with the UK leading in “help with mortgage” queries. 

While assets are bubbly, and BTC is just around 7% below its all-time peak, households are feeling the crunch in their cash flows, pressured by a higher cost of living. The mixed conditions also caused the recent uncertainty around the Fed’s interest rate decisions, as the concerns range between the threat of inflation and encouraging economic recovery. 

Coinciding with the mortgage searches, the term “bankruptcy lawyer” have spiked on Google to the highest level since 2004. The searches peaked in 2010 and 2019, but have spiked significantly in 2025. 

Underwater mortgages return for US buyers

The most recent data cited by the Wall Street Journal shows that parts of Texas and Florida are the most affected by underwater mortgages. 

Searches and general data have not translated into delinquencies. In fact, mortgages are still mostly paid on time, with delays even shrinking in the past quarter. 

Despite this, delinquencies may lag after the initial concerns for paying the mortgage on time. So far, delinquencies have not repeated the spike from 2020. The potential for delinquencies may depend on unemployment, expecting to see failures if the share of unemployed rises above 6%. 

Can crypto help with mortgages? 

For the US market, proposals have been made to include crypto as collateral for mortgages. So far, there are no examples of real usage, but the growth of digital assets can offset the mortgage cost, at least for personal finance.

In the summer of 2025, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) in the USA issued a statement ordering the evaluation of crypto holdings when considering a home buyer’s risk. As crypto ownership expanded over the years, another housing crisis may show the ability of the new asset class to offset mortgage risks.

For UK buyers, lending against BTC as collateral has been used to complete home purchases. For now, the adoption of crypto is happening on a small scale. However, increasing costs may push owners to crypto adoption as a potential source of growth. 

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