Rising asset values resulted in a 5.5 percent increase in household net worth in the March 2021 quarter compared with December 2020, Stats NZ said today.
"Rising asset prices, including property prices, have meant that the total net worth of New Zealand households has increased strongly in recent quarters," national accounts senior manager Paul Pascoe said.
Net worth is the value of all assets owned by households less the value of all their liabilities. At 31 March 2021, the net worth of New Zealand households was $2.3 trillion. This was $118 billion, or 5.5 percent, higher than at 31 December 2020.
Household net worth increased $402 billion over the year from March 2020 to March 2021. This amount was almost the same as the growth over the previous four years from June 2016 to March 2020 ($419 billion).
While household loan debt has increased $16 billion from March 2020, the value of household assets has risen $417 billion.
| Quarter | Change in net worth |
| Jun-16 | |
| Sep-16 | 49909000000 |
| Dec-16 | 34399000000 |
| Mar-17 | 8796000000 |
| Jun-17 | 32080000000 |
| Sep-17 | 32387000000 |
| Dec-17 | 31374000000 |
| Mar-18 | 31027000000 |
| Jun-18 | -2655000000 |
| Sep-18 | 36828000000 |
| Dec-18 | 15631000000 |
| Mar-19 | 7721000000 |
| Jun-19 | -1452000000 |
| Sep-19 | 40457000000 |
| Dec-19 | 55119000000 |
| Mar-20 | 47160000000 |
| Jun-20 | 22142000000 |
| Sep-20 | 91155000000 |
| Dec-20 | 1.69957E+11 |
| Mar-21 | 1.18284E+11 |
| Quarter | Net worth |
| Jun-16 | 1444153000000 |
| Sep-16 | 1494062000000 |
| Dec-16 | 1528461000000 |
| Mar-17 | 1537257000000 |
| Jun-17 | 1569337000000 |
| Sep-17 | 1601724000000 |
| Dec-17 | 1633098000000 |
| Mar-18 | 1664125000000 |
| Jun-18 | 1661470000000 |
| Sep-18 | 1698298000000 |
| Dec-18 | 1713929000000 |
| Mar-19 | 1721650000000 |
| Jun-19 | 1720198000000 |
| Sep-19 | 1760655000000 |
| Dec-19 | 1815774000000 |
| Mar-20 | 1862934000000 |
| Jun-20 | 1885076000000 |
| Sep-20 | 1976231000000 |
| Dec-20 | 2146188000000 |
| Mar-21 | 2264472000000 |
The rising value of household owner-occupied property contributed $172 billion of the rise in household assets since March last year.
Financial assets, which include shares, businesses, equity in rental properties, bank deposits, and retirement savings owned by households, contributed $245 billion to the increase in household assets since March last year, exceeding the rise from owner-occupied property.
When combining rental properties (included in these accounts as a financial asset) with owner-occupied property, the increases in the values of residential property accounted for about 54 percent of the household asset increase for the March 2021 year.
See also:
- National accounts (income, saving, assets, and liabilities): March 2021 quarter - a new suite of experimental economic statistics.
- Household saving falls in the first quarter of 2021 - related news story.
Note, the quarterly Balance Sheets series are not seasonally adjusted.
