Household net worth grows in the September 2021 quarter but at a slower pace compared to March 2021

Non-financial assets grew $27.7 billion or 2.3 percent due to increased property values.

Growth in property values have slowed over the past few quarters; in comparison, stronger rises in property were the main contributor to the $95.3 billion or 9.1 percent increase in non-financial assets in the March 2021 quarter. Non-financial assets include owner-occupied properties only.

Household ownership of rental properties are recorded as financial assets, under equity and investment fund shares, and represent the value of the properties less the mortgages held. Increasing values for the ownership of these rental properties contributed to equity and investment fund shares held by households rising $31.2 billion or 2.7 percent in the September 2021 quarter. This was the main driver of total financial assets held by households rising $37.8 billion or 2.5 percent.

Other financial assets to record growth in the quarter were currency and deposits up $3.6 billion and insurance, pension, and standardised guarantee schemes up $3.2 billion. The latter are the result of increasing household pension balances.

Financial liabilities of households, which include housing loans (owner occupiers), consumer loans, and student loans, rose by $4.7 billion in the September 2021 quarter. Housing loans were the main driver of the increase.

While overall loan liabilities were up 1.8 percent for the quarter, this follows increases of 2.3 percent and 2.7 percent for the March and June 2021 quarters respectively.