IN BRIEF Research by financial comparison platform Finder has found that 55 per cent of borrowers experience mortgage stress. "A great many Australians live with mortgage repayments so high they could be considered [in] mortgage stress. What does mortgage stress mean? From 2021 to 2022, the proportion of households with couples and dependents experiencing mortgage stress surged. He also noted that the mortgage stress benchmark does not account for gaps in home equity and wealth.