Share
- The net worth of households and non-profits is now more than $5 trillion above its pre-recession peak at $74.8 trillion in the second quarter of 2013 according to data from the Federal Reserve Flow of Funds.
- This level indicates a sharp recovery—growth of 11.5 percent from a year ago. This is the 4th consecutive quarter of year over year growth exceeding 9 percent and the 15th consecutive quarter of positive year over year growth.
- While a reduction of debt led to some increase in net worth earlier in the recovery, the last 3 quarters have showed that total liabilities were roughly stable after 16 consecutive quarters of year over year decline.
- The bigger driver of increases in net worth now is the recovery of home and stock prices. Household real estate accounts for $18.6 of the $88 trillion in household assets and owner’s equity in household real estate is $9.3 trillion of the $70 trillion in net worth. In fact, in the recent quarter, gains were split roughly equally between real estate and financial assets, with each seeing growth between $600 and $700 billion.
- During the recession, the net worth of households and non-profits—the sum total of tangible assets such as real estate and financial assets such as savings and equities minus liabilities such as mortgages and other debt—took a beating, declining by roughly $13 trillion from the first quarter of 2007 to the first quarter of 2009..
- Households and non-profits are grouped together because current data collection by the Fed is not at a level of detail that would make separation of the two groups possible.
Notice: The information on this page may not be current. The archive is a collection of content previously published on one or more NAR web properties. Archive pages are not updated and may no longer be accurate. Users must independently verify the accuracy and currency of the information found here. The National Association of REALTORS® disclaims all liability for any loss or injury resulting from the use of the information or data found on this page.