Irish household wealth reaches a record €1.15tr
Represent Farrell/rollingnews Picture: Held The Assets Households Irish Total By Wealth Ie Leah Of Housing 68%
Rising home prices added €17.6bn to the wealth of Irish households between April and June, bringing the total value of the country’s entire housing stock to €778bn, new data from the Central Bank of Ireland shows.
According to the data, during this three-month period, existing house price values increased by about €14.9bn, while investments in new homes added about €2.6bn in value. Housing assets represent 68% of total net wealth and 59% of the total assets of Irish households.
The data shows Irish households net wealth increased by €17.3bn — following some data revisions — to nearly €1.15trn as of the end of June. This increase represents a series high for the Central Bank and continues a pattern of growth seen in recent quarters.
There was a slight change to the Central Bank’s data sources and methodology during this quarter, which resulted in downward revision for household wealth.
However, the Central Bank said the overall trend for household assets and liabilities, has remained unaltered.
Irish households' financial net wealth — which includes savings, investments, as well as liabilities — stood at €369bn as of the end of June.
During the quarter, gains in financial investments, up €2.4bn, and a fall in negative liability transactions, down €1.5bn, was offset by “revaluations and other changes for financial instruments”, which led to a decrease of €4.1bn in wealth.
In the private sector, total debt increased by €12.9bn over the three-month period, and now stands at €833bn. Non-financial corporations accounted for 81% of the overall amount.
Over the quarter, Government debt increased by €2.5bn to €219.5bn, with increasing debt securities being the largest contributor to this change.
Overall, total financial assets of the Government increased by €15.7bn, mainly driven by increased deposit, up €7.7bn, and equity assets up €7.6bn.
Over the quarter, total Government liabilities increased by €4.3bn.