Nearly one-third of Israeli households are unable to make ends meet, about 40% would be unable to cover an unexpected expense, 30% are stuck in chronic overdraft and one-fifth of homeowners have reached the brink of losing their property. These are the findings of a new survey conducted by the nonprofit organization Daf Hadash, which works to reduce household debt in Israel and prevent the economic collapse of families and small businesses.
The survey, carried out in cooperation with the research institute Tovnot, examined among other issues the level of household leverage in Israel and revealed a highly troubling picture of many households, following two years of war and prolonged reserve duty by hundreds of thousands of primary earners. The survey was conducted in December 2025 among 504 participants. It focused on households that currently own or have owned an apartment in the past five years. The median net household income of respondents stands at about 20,000 shekels per month. In other words, this is a population whose financial situation is slightly better than that of the average Israeli, a fact that makes the findings particularly alarming.
According to the survey, 29% of households report that they are unable to make ends meet, and 39% say they cannot handle an unexpected expense of 10,000 shekels without using credit. The conclusion is clear: roughly one-third of Israeli households are struggling to cope with the cost of living and face a high risk of financial distress. The survey also found that about 30% of respondents have been in chronic overdraft in their bank accounts for an extended period. Among them, 53% took out a loan in the past five years to cover the overdraft, with 23% doing so once and 30% twice or more. The situation is even more severe: 61% of those who took out such loans fell back into overdraft after their most recent loan.
The data indicate that credit lines and loans are not a solution to the rising cost of living. Instead, they can lead to a consumer credit trap and deepen the cycle of debt. The survey’s authors note that nearly 40% of respondents currently hold consumer loans, and 33% took out such loans in addition to a mortgage when purchasing their property. It also found that 21% of respondents considered selling a property they owned in the past five years, including 13.9% who considered it and 7.1% who actually sold, due to difficulty repaying their mortgage or becoming entangled in other loans.
The implications are stark: about one-third of homeowners in Israel are dealing with additional debt repayments beyond their mortgage, and about one-fifth face a tangible risk of losing their property, or have already lost it, due to the burden of debt. In practice, households are financing their day-to-day expenses through overdrafts, credit lines and consumer loans. These are temporary solutions that create an illusion of stability but in reality push many families into a prolonged cycle of debt.
Daf Hadash CEO said the issue does not affect only the economic margins of society. “These are working families, homeowners, who simply cannot keep up with the cost of living,” he said. “More and more households are being forced to turn their homes into a financial safety net for loans, whether by mortgaging the property or by increasing risks around their mortgage. When overdraft becomes a permanent condition and one loan is taken to close a previous loan, the path toward losing both financial resilience and a roof over one’s head becomes much shorter.” The organization stressed that urgent government action and responsible regulation of the credit market are needed, alongside a root-level response to the cost of living, to strengthen Israeli households before this quiet crisis erupts with full force.