A few months ago, research company Digital Financial Analytics surveyed 52,000 households around the country and found that 32 per cent were dealing with mortgage stress.

What is it? Basically, anyone who is struggling to repay their home loan is experiencing mortgage stress. Commentators seem to agree that those whose mortgage payments exceed 30 per cent of their income are either at risk of experiencing or are already experiencing mortgage stress.

In July, the Reserve Bank of Australia reported that since 2014, the number of Australians falling 90 days or more behind on their home loan payments increased from 0.5 per cent to 0.75 per cent. And even more are behind on their mortgages by less than 90 days.

But it’s not just mortgage holders who are struggling with debt. When you have so much debt you can’t repay it, you’re classed as over-indebted. Last year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released a report called Household Debt and Over-indebtedness in Australia. It classified 29 per cent of Australian households as being over-indebted. That’s more than 2.5 million homes around the nation. Not all of those were households with a mortgage, but almost half of them were. And perhaps surprisingly, it’s not just those on low incomes who struggle – the report stated that one in four high-income earners were having a hard time meeting their financial commitments.

If you’re a mortgage holder struggling with debt, you’re at risk of defaulting on your home loan and possibly losing your home.

The reasons why many of us are missing payments are both national and personal. On a national level, low wage growth, weak economic conditions and falling house prices add to the problem. Personal problems such as job loss, relationship breakdowns and medical stress can also lead to financial strain and mortgage stress.

If you’re also one of those homeowners who has watched your property’s value fall over the past 12 months you’re at risk of another problem – having negative equity in your home. This means what you owe on your mortgage is more than the value of your property. If you’re financially stable you can weather this storm and hold on until property prices rise, but if you’re experiencing mortgage stress and you need to sell to pay off your loan, you’ll have a shortfall and have to satisfy the bank by finding funds from another source.

So what can you do if you’re experiencing mortgage stress?

Of course, the best way to avoid mortgage stress is to buy a home that is well within your budget in the first place, and to have a buffer of savings to tide you over should you change jobs or experience an unexpected financial hit. While you can’t control global or national economic conditions, you can certainly make sensible decisions now that will help mitigate future financial stress.

But if you are struggling with your mortgage repayments the advice form the experts is pretty clear – have an honest chat to your lender before things get out of hand.