P0RTLAND -- A new study of the Portland real estate market found that one in every five homeowners in the Metro area is upside down in their mortgage. This means that they owe more than the house is now worth.

The online real estate site, Zillow just released its first quarter findings and not only are 22-percent of homeowners upside down, but their home values have dropped 15-percent over the last year as well.

Experts said if people don’t’ need to move, and can afford paying their current mortgage, they should stay put and not worry because prices will rebound.

However, if money is tight, and homeowners are facing possible foreclosure, it can be helpful to try negotiating with your lender before considering a short sale or bankruptcy.

"Get on an interest-only basis for a term of five years. That gives you a chance to get some equity back in the house since the market should recover within that five-year period. It gives you some relief from the cash flow constraints," said Ann Chapman, with Vanden Bos & Chapman.

"It is gut-wrenching. People have gone through the emotions of ‘I can't make my payments. What am I going to do? I've never defaulted on anything before. This is not who I am.’ It's an extremely complicated emotional time," said Patti Mitchell, with RE/MAX Equity Group.

According to Zillow statistics, Portland is a mirror image of the national average. One in five homeowners across the U.S. is also upside down in their homes.