Household wealth fell for the third consecutive quarter, decreasing by 0.4% ($57B) in the December quarter 2022, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
ABS' head of finance and wealth statistics, Mish Tan says: “Household wealth is now $14.4T which is 3% lower than a year ago. This is largely due to falling residential property prices, as rising interest rates lower demand and household borrowing capacity.”
The value of residential land and dwellings dropped by 2.7% ($260B) in the December quarter and contributed 1.8 percentage points to the overall decline in household wealth. Residential land and dwellings are valued at $9.2T which is 3.9% ($374B) lower than December 2021.
Superannuation assets tempered the quarterly fall in household wealth, rising 3.6% ($120B). This reflected domestic and international share markets rallying during the quarter following heavy losses in previous quarters. Despite the rise, superannuation balances have lost 6.7% ($247B) in value since December 2021 as asset prices declined.