Joe Hockey does not believe Sydney housing is unaffordable.
And if there is a housing affordability problem in Australia, the treasurer offers two pieces of advice: build more homes and "get a good job" that pays well.
Mr Hockey has stirred a hornet's nest with his simplistic response to a problem that is increasingly putting home ownership out of reach of many Australians.
The Labor opposition has compared it with his outburst 12 months ago when he was ridiculed for saying that poor people don't drive cars, when trying to sell a budget proposal to re-index fuel excise.
Mr Hockey offered his housing tips on Tuesday when providing an update on the government's crackdown on dodgy foreign housing investment.
Asked if he thought Sydney housing is unaffordable, Mr Hockey said: "No."
"If housing were unaffordable in Sydney, no one would be buying it," he said.
"People are purchasing housing in Sydney, it's expensive. As a multiple of average weekly earnings, it is expensive, it's an expensive city to live in."
The median Sydney house price is around $900,000, more than 11 times the average annual wage, compared with a ratio of about six 20 years ago.
Treasury secretary John Fraser said last week there is little doubt there is a housing bubble in Sydney and the top end of the Melbourne market.
Mr Hockey said the response to such suggestions is clear - "build, build, build".
"More construction in housing, and that is going to address any concerns that there might be exaggerated prices in parts of Australia," he said.
Mr Hockey said the solution for first home buyers trying to get on the property ladder is "get a good job that pays good money".
"Then you can go to the bank and you can borrow money, and that's readily affordable," Mr Hockey said.
If you can get a loan, interest rates are substantially lower than 20 years ago.
The Reserve Bank's cash rate sits at a record low of two per cent compared with 7.5 per cent in 1995.
But Labor's leader in the Senate, Penny Wong, said Mr Hockey is the only person in Australia who thinks there is no issue with housing affordability.
"The treasurer's only response is to lecture Australians about getting a better job," she told reporters in Adelaide.
Independent senator Nick Xenophon thought it was an "incredibly inane" thing to say.
"I wasn't aware that Joe Hockey was getting media advice from Kim Kardashian," he told Sky News.
Australian Council of Social Service chief Cassandra Goldie said the treasurer's comments are out of touch with the reality of everyday families and individuals.
"Not everyone has the luxury of simply switching to a better paying job," she said in a statement.
"The reality is there are nearly 800,000 people who can't get a job right now."