Top 10 percent of households have half of total net worth – Statistics NZ
Household net worth
The average New Zealand household was worth $289,000 in the year to June 2015, Statistics New Zealand said today. However wealth was not evenly distributed, with the top 10 percent accounting for around half of total wealth. In contrast, the bottom 40 percent held 3 percent of total wealth.
“While some people have high net worth, around 5 percent of households had negative net worth, which means they owe more than they own,” labour market and households statistics senior manager Diane Ramsay said. Overall, New Zealand households owned $400,000 in assets and owed $51,000 in debt, on average.
The most-valuable asset was the house the household lived in, which made up 59 percent of all non-financial assets. One in two households owned the house they lived in. Housing also contributed the most to debt levels – mortgage debt was over 60 percent of household liabilities.
“Nearly three in five New Zealand households living in their own home had a mortgage, with a median mortgage value of $172,000,” Ms Ramsay said. “Overall, for every $1 of assets they have, New Zealand households have 12 cents of debt.”
Individual net worth
Median net wealth differs across ethnic groups. European people had an individual median net worth of $114,000; Asian people $33,000; Māori people $23,000; and Pacific people $12,000. This difference exists even when accounting for the younger population of Asian, Māori, and Pacific peoples.
Young people (aged 15–24) had the lowest individual median net worth of any age group – just $1,000. Most young people have not yet accumulated assets, but do have debt. The most-common debt for young people was education loans.
The concentration of wealth in the top 10 percent of individuals has increased slightly since 2005. Between 2003 and 2010, the Survey of Family, Income and Employment found that the top 10 percent had an average 55 percent of total net worth over this time. For the year ended June 2015, the top 10 percent owned around 60 percent of total net worth.
This is today’s obscene picture of the greedy era of self interest over a former world famous “egalitarian society that promised a balanced share in the common wealth for all.
Bloody shameful against Nactional for this!
These statistic are pretty close to meaningless unless you separate out the family house. With house values through the roof and many older Aucklanders living mortgage-free, having bought and paid for their house in more benign times, the wonder is that more people aren’t nominally in the highest group. But net worth shouldn’t be counted unless it is readily realized.
It’s like productivity per capita analyses, which seem to be counting individual output, but actually only measure relative capital investment. Or economic growth statistics that purport to assess national economic success but actually only measure immigration differential.
“While some people have high net worth, around 5 percent of households had negative net worth, which means they owe more than they own,” labour market and households statistics senior manager Diane Ramsay said. Overall, New Zealand households owned $400,000 in assets and owed $51,000 in debt, on average.”
Thanks for the important figures here.
Observing our financial order today at 72, this means with our home property in the provinces with a depressed housing price level of about $280 000 and owe still owe $120 000 on it!
We are now reduced on the lower standard of financial health now as we stall owe 45% of the value of our property!
We are really slipping out of the “middle class” and down to the bottom at our age.