First home loan figures wrong

THE slump in lending to first home buyers is as dire as it seemed. The number of loans to first home buyers has been underreported since October 2011, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said yesterday.

Some lenders reported only loans to those buyers who had received a first home owner’s grant.

The proportion of loans going to first time buyers in November was 14.6 per cent, not 11.6 per cent as previously reported, the ABS said.

However, the November figure remains the lowest for a decade.