Home prices drive household wealth to a record $14.9 trillion

A new report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has found that household wealth in Australia increased by 1.2% in the first quarter of 2022 – an increase of 35.3 percent since March 2020.

Overall, the report found that households in Australia are now worth a total of $14.9 trillion. This is the highest level on record and is equivalent to around $574,807 per household. 

Katherine Keenan, head of finance and wealth at the Australian Bureau of Statistics, said, "The increase in housing values was the main driver of growth in household assets over the quarter. It was followed by strong growth in equity markets and a rise in the value of deposits and superannuation." Keenan said that despite concerns about high household debt levels, growth in household assets had outstripped growth in liabilities over the past year.

Most of the growth in household wealth since the start of the pandemic has resulted from residential property, which has accounted for a rise of 39.9 percent. There was also welcome news for superannuation balances. These increased 22.5 percent due to the share markets being supported by accommodative monetary policy. 

The ABS also released data on household income, which showed that households earned a total of $265 billion in the first quarter of 2022. This was up 1.9% from the previous quarter. Higher wages and salaries were the biggest driver of this increase, lifting household income by 1.4%. Households also received an extra 0.4% from other sources of income, such as interest and dividends.