A growing majority of Australians want house prices to fall, in some cases by more than 20 per cent, and contentious measures in the federal budget are winning more support among voters, a new poll has revealed.

Sixty-one per cent of people supported a decline in property prices, an exclusive Resolve Political Monitor Poll has found, with a majority of every age, political and income group agreeing that prices were too high.

Support for a drop increased by seven points on the 54 per cent recorded in June. Opposition eased to 9 per cent from 11 per cent, while the proportion who were undecided or neutral also slipped, from 35 per cent to 29 per cent.

The government has been accused of deliberately trying to undermine the property market through its changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax concession in the May budget. Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have argued that the changes will slow the pace of house price growth rather than cut values.

Pressed on forecasts from the nation’s banks that prices are likely to fall this year, Albanese said earlier this month that the government’s reforms were aimed at giving young people a “fair crack” at owning a home.

The Resolve poll shows most Australians believe house prices have to fall given the sharp increase since the turn of the century, which has left the nation with some of the most expensive property markets in the world.

The poll, of 2252 people taken between July 6 and 11, showed the support for a drop in prices was highest among Labor voters, at 73 per cent. But there was also strong support among Greens voters (63 per cent), One Nation voters (55 per cent) and those who are uncommitted (62 per cent).

Even among Coalition voters, support for lower prices has grown over the past month. In June, just 41 per cent supported a fall while 20 per cent were opposed. By July, support had climbed to 58 per cent while opposition subsided to 12 per cent.

Property investors (66 per cent), renters (63 per cent), those with a mortgage (62 per cent) and people who own their home outright (59 per cent) all recorded increases in support for price falls.

One of the biggest increases was among those over the age of 55, with support climbing from 47 per cent to 58 per cent. There was also a 10-point climb in support among high-income earners (to 66 per cent) and low-income earners (up nine points to 60 per cent).

Pollster Jim Reed said it appeared support for lower prices was growing across the electorate.

“This welcoming with open arms might be somewhat surprising, but it makes sense when those looking for homes say large drops are needed for them to have any chance of affording to buy,” he said.

Respondents were also asked whether they supported a fall in the price of their own home.

Just 15 per cent said they wanted prices to keep rising, with another 23 per cent agreeing that they should stay the same.

But the rest supported a fall, with 14 per cent backing a drop of at least 20 per cent. Another 16 per cent agreed with a decline of between 10 and 19 per cent.

The lowest support for a 20 per cent or more drop in prices was among those who owned their home, at 8 per cent, but there was still a plurality who accepted some sort of fall.

Among non-owners, just 18 per cent said they did not want to buy a home no matter any change in prices. But in a sign of how unaffordable the market has become for first-time buyers, 35 per cent backed a drop of at least 20 per cent, with another 9 per cent supportive of a 10-19 per cent tumble.

Capital city house values fell last month, due to big drops in Sydney and Melbourne, while auction clearance rates have also dropped sharply. But data collated by Cotality showed the auction clearance rate has lifted to its highest level in seven weeks.

The preliminary clearance rate climbed to 54.8 per cent from 49.8 per cent last week, driven by a sharp lift in Sydney where the rate increased to 57.5 per cent. In the nation’s largest auction market, Melbourne, the clearance rate increased to 56.2 per cent.

The government has been under pressure over both the state of the property market and the economic impact of its budget tax measures. Support for the government as measured in the Resolve Political Monitor has fallen since the May budget.

But the most recent monitor shows voters are coming around to the tax agenda revealed by Chalmers in the budget.

Support for the change to the CGT concession system lifted from 31 per cent to 35 per cent while opposition slipped to 24 per cent from 31 per cent. There was also an increase in the proportion unsure about the policy.

There was also a four-point lift in support for changes to negative gearing, which reached 37 per cent. Opposition fell three points to 23 per cent.

There was large support for the $1000 standard tax deduction (62 per cent), the new $250 Working Australian Tax Offset (43 per cent) and the $5 a week tax cut that started from July 1 (56 per cent).

Opposition to the standard deduction, the offset or the tax cut is all around the 8 per cent mark.

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Shane Wright is a senior economics correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.