The data, compiled by Digital Finance Analytics (DFA), shows 37 per cent of households are experiencing financial stress.

People renting a home were experiencing the biggest challenges, with 76.6 per cent of households in financial stress.

The number of households paying off a mortgage experiencing financial stress was 24 per cent, while almost 27 per cent of investors were struggling to keep up with their payments.

New Australian Bureau of Statistics data also revealed the number of loans issued for the purchase and construction of new homes fell by 4.2 per cent in the month of January 2024 and remains at its lowest level since 2008.

Housing Industry Association chief economist Tim Reardon said the RBA's rate hiking cycle caused consumer confidence to decline and home buying activity to consequently fall.

The revelation comes as a Warrnambool real estate agent says landlords are left with no choice but to increase rent.

Falk and Co director David Falk said he knew of investors whose mortgages had increased from about $1300 a month to almost $2500 since 2020.

And that's an investor who is only paying the interest on the loan, Mr Falk said.

He said this spike, along with new statutory requirements of landlords that had added to upkeep costs, was making an investment property a less attractive prospect for some owners.

"I think it's everything put together that's seeing the cost of rentals go up," Mr Falk said.

He said he was seeing investors who had property portfolios for decades exiting the market.

"A lot of these people have been landlords for a very long time," Mr Falk said.