I've felt mortgage stress as minister: PM

Tony Abbott says he doesn't underestimate how hard it is to get into the housing market, claiming he felt mortgage stress even as a cabinet minister.

Responding to questions about housing affordability in Sydney and Melbourne, the prime minister empathised with people trying to buy their first home.

"Even as a cabinet minister sometimes it's hard to pay a Sydney mortgage and I know over the years I've earnt a lot more than the average person," he told reporters in western Sydney on Wednesday, noting the Abbott family was still paying off its home.