Americans' wealth rose more than $2 trillion in the final quarter of last year, pushing further into record territory, thanks to a go-go stock market and rising property prices, data from the nation's central bank showed Thursday.
According to the quarterly Fed report, household net worth — the value of all assets such as stocks and real estate minus liabilities like mortgage and credit-card debt — rose to a record $98.746 trillion, The Wall Street Journal reported.
American households also saw their net worth rise to nearly seven times their disposable personal income in 2017 — pushing past prerecession peaks.
The ratio of wealth to income is "at pretty dizzying levels right now," JPMorgan Chase economist Michael Feroli told the Journal.
But Americans are not saving much, a "worrying" trend, Feroli said, noting the saving rate was 3.74 percent for 2017, down from 5.98 percent a year earlier and 7.19 percent in 2015.
According to the Journal, previous busts have been preceded by periods of rising asset values and low saving — and the current wealth-to-income level surpasses that seen in the run-up to earlier recessions.
Here is what is highlighted in the quarterly Fed report released Thursday, the Journal reported:
- Stocks had a banner year in 2017, with the S&P 500 rising 19 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 25 percent household wealth in the stock market climbed by $1.346 trillion in the fourth quarter.
- The value of households' real estate increased $511.2 billion, reflecting continuing increases in home prices. U.S. house prices rose 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter, and rose 6.7 percent on the year.
- Households have $9.272 trillion in deposits, which include checking and savings accounts and certificates of deposit.
- Household debts rose at an annual rate of 5.2 percent in the fourth quarter, with liabilities increasing by $208.6 billion.