When federal housing minister Clare O’Neil was asked on youth radio station Triple J on Tuesday whether she wanted to see house prices come down to give young people a chance to get into the market, she showed she knows where the votes are.

With about 56 per cent of Australians’ wealth locked up in the $11.4 trillion property market, there’s not a lot of political capital to be gained by suggesting the government would like to see the most important assets in most households depreciate.