Confidence in property investment falls to lowest level in 40 years

The number of Australians who consider property as the best place to invest their savings has fallen to its lowest level in more than 40 years, according to the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research.

The latest survey found confidence has fallen since September 2015 to an all time low of 11.6 percent.

In a breakfast briefing this week Michelle Bullock from the Reserve Bank said the worry is what happened in the United States - a big downturn in housing prices and negative equity

"Hopefully what we've done with strengthening the resilience of the households and the banks means they can withstand that sort of thing if it happened," she said.

The Age reported Bill Evans, Westpac chief economist said the result showed a clear increase in risk aversion.

"Consumers are saying: yes we expect [real estate] prices to rise, but we are a little cautious," he said.

"There is no doubt there is nervousness about the sustainability of the prices."