First home purchase is tough: PM

Prime Minister Tony Abbott says it's not impossible for Australians to get a deposit for their first home while paying off university debts, but he acknowledges the task is tough.

The Prime Minister said one of his three daughters has been able to enter the market in Canberra, yet the other two were finding it "daunting".

"It's not impossible because remarkably a lot of people do it (but) it's not easy, no doubt about that," he told Alan Jones on Radio 2GB Thursday.

Mr Abbott said there was a need to increase housing supply, arguing red and green tape was "literally killing people" trying to enter the market.

"Mucking around" with negative gearing was not the answer to easing housing affordability because it would increase rents, he said.