Confidence in the housing market has collapsed, with the number of Australians describing property as the wisest place to put their savings falling to its lowest level in more than 40 years.

The Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research has been asking about the wisest place to store savings since it began its consumer confidence survey in 1974.

Real estate has been one of the most popular answers, often eclipsing bank deposits and paying down debt as the wisest place for savings.

As recently as September 2015 more than 28 per cent of those surveyed nominated real estate as the safest place for savings - more than any other asset class.