The boom in the stock market and the recovery in house prices led to a nearly $10 trillion increase last year in the net worth of American households, according to data released Thursday.
The net worth of American households grew last year by $9.8 trillion, or 14%, to $80.66 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve. That includes a nearly $3 trillion jump in the fourth quarter alone.
Most of the gains in net worth, $5.6 trillion, came through the stock market, as the S&P 500 climbed nearly 30%, and $2.3 trillion came in the value of real estate as home prices rose. U.S. home prices grew over 13% last year, according to the Case-Shiller 20-city composite index.
Those gains aren’t, of course, shared equally by Americans. A recent study from Ohio State said that the mean net worth of American households in mid-2013 was still 14% below the prerecession peak in 2006.
Source: Marketwatch
