Public concern about mortgage rates and defaulting on payments is high, as illustrated by the nation’s search trends since the start of 2023, research by the debt advisory firm Sirius Property Finance shows.

On 5 June the average rate on a new two-year fixed mortgage reached 5.72%, according to figures from the financial data provider Moneyfacts, compared with 5.26% at the start of May.

Unsurprisingly it seems some consumers are becoming spooked and financially stretched in the current environment. Sirius has analysed UK Google Interest Scores for mortgage-related search terms to see what mortgage issues the UK public is most interested in.

When it comes to the most prominent search terms, people are searching for ‘Mortgage Holiday’. Others are looking to insure themselves in the instance that they can’t afford their payments in the future, with ‘Mortgage Insurance’ also one of the most prevalent search terms with a score of 31.6.

Despite how desperate things already are for so many homeowners, it’s clear that people are still concerned that things will get worse with the Interest Score for ‘Interest Rate Increase’ rising by 344.1% since the start of the year.