Asked about reported changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount at an event in Western Sydney on Friday, Anthony Albanese said young people felt the system was working against them, eroding trust in the economy and democracy.
Media reports have ramped up expectations the 50 per cent capital gains discount will be reverted to the pre-1999 regime, which taxed real gains on assets adjusted for inflation.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers' comments, that the government would recognise past investment decisions, appeared to suggest arrangements for existing asset holders would be grandfathered.
"I know there's been a bit of speculation, all of it wrong," Mr Albanese said on Friday.
"When people see what we're actually going to do in the budget, people will be able to make their own assessments, but I can assure you that it is aimed firmly and squarely at aspiration."
It comes as home prices in Sydney and Melbourne fell 0.6 per cent in April, data firm Cotality revealed.
Sydney's medium dwelling price was still the nation's most expensive, at $1.29 million, but its premium over Brisbane and Perth was rapidly eroding.
The median Brisbane home, which climbed 1.2 per cent over the month to $1.12 million, is now worth 86 per cent of the Sydney median, compared to 76 per cent a year prior.
In Perth, the median dwelling jumped 2.1 per cent to $1.04 million, representing 80 per cent of the Sydney benchmark compared to 68 per cent a year earlier.
Nationwide, home prices rose 0.3 per cent, but the pace of growth was slowing across the board as headwinds blowing in from the Strait of Hormuz gathered strength.
The RBA's two back-to-back rate hikes, with a third likely on Tuesday, and uncertainty driven by the Middle East crisis, were weighing on sentiment and demand, Cotality head of research Gerard Burg said.
Regional markets grew faster than the capitals, up 12 per cent over 12 months, as affordability constraints pushed buyers out of the cities in search of cheaper homes, Mr Burg said.
On the other side of the scale, the supply picture was improving, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, where the total number of listings has pushed above the five-year average.
Mr Burg said improvement in supply in Sydney and Melbourne was mainly driven by more vendors looking to sell before property values fall further, but Australia's chronic supply imbalance would continue to put a floor under prices for several years to come.
"When you take a look at the significant increase in costs that we've seen over the last couple of years, just making new projects feasible has become increasingly challenging," he told AAP.
But the supply pipeline was growing before the Iran war.
The National Housing Supply and Affordability Council said the amount of homes set to be built by mid-2029 increased by 42,000 over the past 12 months.
However, supply chain disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict could shrink the housing pipeline by 33,000 new homes over the same period, the council warned.
The government was looking to make it easier to build by reducing the regulatory burden, Housing Minister Clare O'Neil told a Property Council summit on Thursday.
"I absolutely believe there is far too much red tape and regulation in housing and that, if we are going to support you to build the homes our country needs, we're going to have to wind that back," she said.
The federal government announced $72.5 million will be provided to NSW as part of a productivity package in the May 12 budget, as a reward for putting in place agreed zoning and planning changes that make it easier to build new homes.
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