Household net worth now rising at fastest rate since 2006

Household net worth rose by 3.5 per cent during the third quarter of 2013, the largest increase since the end of 2006.

According to the Central Bank’s latest quarterly financial accounts, household net worth stood at €489.6 billion, equivalent to €106,605 per capita.

Net worth has been improving steadily over the past two years but it, still remains 31.9 per cent lower than its peak in the second quarter of 2007.

The Central Bank said the rise in net worth was largely due to a €12.6 billion increase in the value of housing assets. A €1.8 billion decline in liabilities and a €2 billion rise in the value of financial assets were also cited as factors.

The latest figures indicate that household debt is also continuing to decline, falling to €1.68 billion or €36,717 per capita. This is equivalent to a fall of €1.6 billion over the quarter.

Overall debt has fallen by 17.2 per cent since its peak in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Debt as a proportion of disposable income also fell during the months between July and September 2013, down by more than two percentage points to 196.1 per cent.

The accounts also showed government liabilities continued to rise in the third quarter, increasing by €2.2 billion to €2.31 billion.

Meanwhile, new figures from the Irish Banking Federation (IBF) show that mortgage approvals rose by 4. 1 per cent to 18,520 last year.

A total of 17,058 of these loans were for house purchase, an increase of 6.1 per cent on 2012.

“The picture for 2013 shows growth in both volume and value in the level of mortgage approvals over 2012 and this upward trend is welcome,” said IBF chief executive Noel Brett.

In December, 1,762 mortgages to the value of €317 million were approved by lenders, of which 1,639 were for house purchase.

The number of mortgages approved increased by 3 per cent in the year to the end of December but fell by 2.2 per cent on a monthly basis between November and December 2013.

The value of mortgages approved in December was €317 million, up 10.1 per cent on the same month a year earlier. The value of approvals fell by 1.2 per cent on a monthly basis between November and December.