New survey shows how non-mortgage debt reshapes paths to homeownership in 2026
Three-quarters of Americans carried debt in early 2026, and many said it reshapes how and when they buy homes, according to new research from Clever Real Estate, a St. Louis–based real estate company.
Clever found that 76% of Americans have some kind of debt and that “about 3 in 4 Americans with debt (73%) consider having debt to be normal.”
However, 77% of those with debt say owing money has held back or harmed their life, and half of Americans in debt (50%) say their stress about their debt has increased in the past year.
More than 4 in 5 debtors (81%) said debt caused them to delay or avoid major milestones, including saving for retirement, improving their living situation, and buying a house.
Among millennials and Gen Z with debt, “20% … say their loans have forced them to delay or avoid buying a home.”
Those self-reported figures came from an online survey of 1,000 adults conducted January 29, 2026.
Mortgages seen as smartest debt – but still stressful
Even in a heavily indebted environment, respondents drew a sharp line between mortgage and consumer balances.
“Mortgages are the clear winner when it comes to the smartest debt to take out (43%), although they’re also second when it comes to the most stressful (22%).”
Credit cards were held by 44% of Americans and were viewed as both “the most stressful form of debt (34%)” and “the dumbest form of debt (29%).”
Among borrowers who held a given type of debt, the median mortgage balance stood at $178,000, with $34,000 for student loans and $18,000 for auto loans.
Non-housing debts also added up: $7,500 for personal loans, $6,000 for credit cards, $5,600 for medical debt and $1,221 for buy now, pay later obligations.
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Clever’s findings align with broader data showing mortgage balances remain the largest slice of US household debt while credit card delinquencies climbed.
New York Fed figures showed total household debt at about $18.8 trillion by late 2025, with credit card balances rising and serious delinquency rates elevated compared with pre-pandemic levels.
What it meant for originators
For mortgage professionals, the mix of rising non-mortgage debt and lingering rate pressure have already shown up in underwriting files.
The latest numbers from TransUnion showed a continued steady increase in mortgage delinquencies in Q4 2025, but the delinquency rate is still below historic normal levels.
Mortgages that were 60 or more days past due reached 1.58% in Q4 2025, according to TransUnion. This was a 19-basis-point increase year over year, but still lower than Q4 2019, pre-pandemic, which saw a delinquency rate of 1.64%.
Satyan Merchant, SVP of auto and mortgage business leader at TransUnion, said much of the increase can be attributed to FHA and VA loans, while agency loans seem to be performing well.
“We continue to see some increase in delinquency,” Merchant told Mortgage Professional America. “The key with delinquency and mortgage is that it's really about the loan type. The FHA program is designed for the lower-credit-score consumer. You would not be surprised to see an increase on that side. I think the agency loans seem to be operating just fine. That’s why I would really compare this delinquency picture of what we saw in 2008 and 2009.”
Meanwhile, the FICO Score Credit Insights report showed a record 48.1% of consumers with scores of 750 or higher, up from 43.3% in 2019, while lower-score segments also expanded.
The middle thinned out, echoing the “K-shaped” patterns already visible in mortgage performance and household debt data.
“The resumption of required student loan payments and a continued, modest rise in mortgage delinquencies nudged the average score slightly lower,” said Ethan Dornhelm, head of scores analytics at FICO.
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