Lenders downplay first home buyer numbers

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has announced that some first home buyer numbers have been under-reported, as some lenders only count loans to first home buyers if they also received a First Home Owner Grant.

The under-reporting, discovered in the course of an investigation by the ABS, only relates to first home buyers, defined by the ABS as "persons entering the home ownership market as owner-occupiers for the first time."

The ABS said that it and APRA are working with lenders to ensure all loans to first home buyers are accurately recorded in the future, regardless of whether they received a grant or not.

In the interim, the ABS has adjusted first home buyer data for this under-reporting using estimates based on data provided by those lenders which have reported correctly. "The estimates will be updated over time as more lenders report correctly," the ABS said.

The instructions do not make any distinction between first home buyers who are eligible for a FHOG and those who are not. Nonetheless, some lenders' reporting systems only record first home buyers if they are eligible for a grant which may cause under-reporting of first home buyers.

The ABS estimated that the number of loans to first home buyers which are currently being reported are approximately 80 per cent of the total number of loans to first home buyers. Total reported monthly home loan commitments are not affected by this under-reporting.

For lenders who are under-reporting loans to first home buyers, the ABS has developed a model to adjust the proportion of first home buyers to total loans for each period of incorrect reporting.

The total value of home lending is separately reported and is not affected, the ABS has stated.