The Gummint provided the data. At best, probably an exaggeration... at worst an out-and-out lie. Whenever Gummint tells you something is good, you should suspect it's a lie and conduct your business accordingly.
I miscalculated. Net worth is even higher: 389000$. It is the AVERAGE net worth, not the median. So total net worth divided by the population. We have less super rich people and (much) less poor people. Wealth is better spread than in the US. To me it is more important that most of the population has 300000 euros than the american situation where many have nothing and few have much. Overhere EVERYBODY has a basic healthcare that is affordable, i think i pay less than 100 euros a year. An example: my daughter was hospitalized last mont. Total cost:895.13 euros. I had to pay 6.45 euros plus 1.50 euros for supplements. Total: 7.95 euros; the rest was paid by health care.
73% of our population have their own house. So wealth is fairly well spread. Of course the top and bottom 10 % will show spectacular excesses. But that's inevitable.
Well, if you study the fundamentals of housing, you will find that it is very likely that house prices will fall quite soon and A LOT. Also that should trigger a recession, since the economy has depended on housing for so much and for a long time.
Only the speculators or those that grossly overpaid will be hurt. The average "Joe" or "Jane" will simply have to live longer in one spot to even out the equity. Even if there's a recession, only those that are overextended will get hurt. Now, we can argue if the average American is overextended or not (I think many are), but an all-out housing crash isn't going to happen. Housing prices will fall to a moderate pace and many will have to live longer in one spot. Real estate should, and historically has, returned around 5-10% (6-8% is very realistic). So those regions that have seen 30% appreciation rates will stagnate, but there's not going to be any bust anytime soon even if mortgage rates go to 10%. If anything there's a housing shortage in many key markets, appreciation will simply moderate. As far as overall American wealth, the main topic, savings rates and wealth accumulation statistics don't accurately take into account appreciation. Retirement accounts aren't accounted for often either. Yes Americans live in debt, but there is "smart" debt and "dumb" debt. A mortgage is what I call necessary debt and real estate equity appreciation isn't accounted for in net worth statistics. The three SUV's in the driveway is "DUMB" debt. Fact: The main source of accumulated wealth for the average American is their primary residence. If you haven't over-leveraged against that investment, then you probably have seen a good jump in your net wealth the last 6 years. The problem isn't owning real estate, but tapping into that real estate's equity when it's inflated. Even if you have done that, you still will be alright more likely than not due to the fact that you will simply stay put longer than the average 3 years people spend in one spot. Simply put, most statistics don't accurately account for wealth, its accumulation nor its appreciation. "Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are more pliable." Mark Twain "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." Benjamin Disraeli
I want to know what country has 73% home ownership and an average $385K net family worth. This country must be at the top of the "richest in the world" and the USA must be about 30 places below it. (sarcasm).
Personally, I like to look at liquidity as a measure of wealth. It's one thing to say you have a million dollars in assets (houses, cars, paper profits, etc), and another thing to say you have a million dollars liquid (cash, gold/silver). Both situations say you have a million dollars, but the underlying idea of real wealth puts them at opposite ends of the wealth spectrum.
Agreed. Still difficult to believe the $93k stat. Take RE out of the equation and where are we? I'd like the see the stat (or preferably the fact) about net worth excluding the primary residence, but factoring in the mortgage. Looking at that info in combination with the average savings rate and we'll have a much more realistic profile of where we really are. IMHO