Half of Victorians and Tasmanians believe the great Australian dream of owning a home is out of reach, a survey says.

Galaxy Research carried out the survey on behalf of the Master Builders' Association, and found 50 per cent of people in those states were "not confident" of ever owning a house. A staggering 20 per cent of adults are resigned to never having their own home, according to the survey.But compared to the rest of the country, Victorians and Tasmanians seem optimistic.

Nationally, 57 per cent of renters were not confident they would ever own a home, while 21 per cent of people earning between $50,000 and $69,000 believed they would never own their own home. Half of parents believed their children would never be able to afford to buy a house.

Master Builders executive director Brian Welch said the results showed governments needed to do more to improve housing affordability."Unless government attitudes change soon, future housing will increasingly be bought, built and owned only by Victorians who are asset or income rich," Mr Welch said. The survey was carried out in late March, with 298 people over 18 surveyed in Victoria and Tasmania, and 1,051 people surveyed nationally.