U.S. Household Net Worth Reached Record $90.2 Trillion in Third Quarter

Wall Street Journal ^ | Dec. 8, 2016 12:00 p.m. ET | Josh Zumbrun

[expat_panama]

Stock wealth climbed by $494 billion and housing by $554 billion

The wealth of U.S. households climbed to a record $90.2 trillion in the third quarter, driven by a powerful buildup in both real estate and stocks.

Stockholdings—both directly and through retirement accounts like 401(k)s—climbed by $494 billion last quarter while real estate, which is primarily people’s homes, rose in value by $554 billion, according to a Federal Reserve report released Thursday.

The report shows that U.S....

[expat_panama]

Additional info from the Salt Lake City Trib

Key points:

- Net worth for households and non-profit groups rose by $1.59 trillion, or 1.8 percent, to a record $90.2 trillion in July through September from the previous three months, according to Fed's financial accounts report, previously known as flow of funds survey.

- Value of financial assets, including stocks and pension fund holdings, rose $1.16 trillion.

- Household real-estate assets climbed by $499 billion; owner's equity as a share of total real-estate holdings increased to 57.3 percent from 56.8 percent.

Big picture:

Stock market gains, including a 3.3 percent advance in the S&P 500 Index in the third quarter, and household wealth due to rising house prices, have strengthened household finances. Meanwhile, companies had a record $2.1 trillion in liquid assets, indicating businesses have plenty of wherewithal to boost outlays on capital investment, dividends and stock buybacks.

 

There's lots of stuff in the latest fed Flow of Funds Report, but my favorite is total private net worth.  What it tells us is how rich America is (all time high)--

 

 

 

--and adjusted for population and inflation we know how the average American's doing; it's also at an :all time high but not that much higher than it was in '07...

[Paladin2]

Sounds more like an expanding bubble.

[puppypusher]

Sounds like fake news to me.Produced by the establishment media.

I can state one thing and that is my income hasn’t increased.

[expat_panama]

Happy Friday everyone!   We're going into the weekend with gains in both stocks and precious metals consolidating; related: Trump Express Still on Track.  Yesterday's indexes climbed about a half % in mixed trade and gold/silver are still going for 41,169.40/$17.03.  Futures see 'em both steady right now.

Reports a half hour into the trading day: Mich Sentiment and Wholesale Inventories.

News:

The U.S. Economy Needs More Main Street Capitalism - David Smick, NR
Trump Tax Plan Could Reduce Giving - Alex Brill & Aparna Mathur, RCM
The Reasons Why Stocks Are in 'Melt Up' Mode - Adam Shell, USA Today
The Fed Has a Huge Balance Sheet: Is It a Problem? - John Cochrane, TGE
In 2016, Central Banks Quietly Surrendered - Jeff Snider,RealClearMarkets

--and FR threads:

• A Major Technological Turning Point For Finance
• Economic Optimism Hits 10-Year High On Trump, But Democrats Are Blue
• Why NAFTA Is A Job Creator, Not A Job Killer
• Consumers, businesses, and CEOs are all loving life since Trump's election
• Cramer Remix: Trump just changed the world forever
• Philippines outsourcing firms hit by Trump and 'Trump East'
• OBAMA’S 25 “MIDNIGHT” REGULATIONS COST $44.1 BILLION
• The Difference Between Trump and Obama On Jobs
• Trump's pledge to boost infrastructure could aid mid-Hudson
• Don’t buy the lie that Obama’s leaving behind a healthy economy

 

[refermech]

My net worth not quite that high...

[redfreedom]

So much taxing potential here, it’s a shame the dems are no longer in power. Think of all the votes they could buy or import as illegal aliens if they could finagle this away from us. For Americans to still have some wealth is really deplorable.

[palmer]

Did they normalize for the number of households?

[palmer]

gold/silver are still going for 41,169.40/$17.03

Looks like you added $40,000 to the gold price (or forgot to hit the shift key). Not that there's anything wrong with that...

[Grams A]

I can state one thing and that is my income hasn’t increased.”

Us either. Ah but we are supposed to be delighted that the value of our home has increased. May be good news to some but that just translates to an increase in taxes and insurance.

[bert]

The fourth quarter post Trump gain exceeds the third quarter in less than one month.

I think there were perhaps two post election days producing gains greater than a whole quarter. I expect gains by the end of the year to exceed the whole third quarter as well.

[stanne]

Is obama directing these headlines?

[mountainlion]

The national debt is manipulated with smoke and mirrors. Hannity said US debt at something like $235T. Lots of cities are running out of money. We need a big economic expansion to just keep even.

[Mad Dawgg]

Needs a bit of editing: "Stock wealth inflation climbed by $494 billion and housing price inflation by $554 billion"

[NEMDF]

HA, same here. Income: no increase. Taxes: Increase. Utilities: Increase. Groceries: Increase. Medical expenses: Increase. Home valuation by arbitrary swipe of the state board: Increase. Property Insurance: Increase.

I think we will be bombarded by these stories, for the next 4 weeks, trying to create a theme that we all ended the 0bama years in much better financial shape than when he took office. It is going to be a SLEW of FAKE NEWS about the economy.

[Steve_Seattle]

One reason homes are going up in value is that the left discourages the building of new homes, thus shrinking the market.

[richardtavor]

With the Market at 20,000 points, that value could become 20 trillion in a week if the market retreats below 10,000. I hope no one ‘spends’ that new found wealth because it is a mirage, done with artificial jacking of the currencies and the Fed, along with the international banking system.

[from occupied ga]

May be good news to some but that just translates to an increase in taxes and insurance.

Exactly. I shifted jobs to get a minor increase, but the increase in real estate taxes alone this past year ate most of the increase. Insurance costs have risen steadily in GA for motor vehicles (although I've never had a claim) I'm now paying about three times as much as I did ten years ago on the same or equivalent vehicles.

[richardtavor]

The value of your home really doesn’t matter unless you plan on selling it. It is only worth what someone is willing to give you today. As far as all of that paper wealth, it could disapear tomorrow. Lso, you really don’t have any control over it. Many people look at that value that the piece of paper says that your 401K/retirement says you are worth, but it is only a piece of paper. Go to an ATM and try to draw out cash when the slightest downturn occurs (see Greece, India, Cypress, etc.)

[freedomfiter2]

Of course, all that wealth in stocks only counts for the ones who sell at this level.

[expat_panama]

Ah. That was gold quoted in Pomeranian Kzoti. Let’s see, the current exchange rate is 35.21 kzoti to the dollar so the U.S. dollar gold price must be...

...$1,169.40 exactly.

;)