The slump in lending to first home buyers is not quite as dire as it seemed.
The number of loans granted to first home buyers has been under reported since October 2011, the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed on Wednesday.
That's because some lenders were only reporting loans to those buyers who had received a first home owner grant.
Business Spectator last month flagged a similar approach among some other data gatherers.
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The bureau said it had initially thought a drop in loans to first home buyers was caused by a reduction in grants, rising house prices and increased buying activity from investors.
A new estimation method now shows the proportion of new loans going to first time buyers in November was 14.6 per cent.
The previously released figure for November was only 11.6 per cent.
While things aren't as bad for first home buyers as they seemed, the November figure remains the lowest for a decade.