House prices lifted household wealth even higher in the March quarter of this year, according to data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The new figures show that total household wealth increased 1.2% ($173b) in the March quarter 2022, reaching a record $14.9 trillion, while wealth per capita rose to a record high of $574,807.
ABS head of finance and wealth Katherine Keenan noted that residential property assets continued to drive up household wealth, contributing 1.4 percentage points to growth.
“While the pace of property price growth started to moderate, with falls in Sydney and Melbourne this quarter, other capital cities and regional areas rose, resulting in an overall rise in house prices of 1.9% nationally”, Keenan said.
Since March quarter 2020, household wealth has increased 35.3%. This was driven by asset prices appreciating, which resulted in wealth per capita increasing by $146,008.
Households have accumulated $305b in currency and deposits since the start of the pandemic.
Residential property accounted for most of the growth in household wealth since the start of the pandemic, rising 39.9%. Superannuation balances increased 22.5%, as share markets were supported by accommodative monetary policy.
