Friday, January 13, 2006

Australia Net Wealth

According to report by Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research The University of Melbourne the median or ‘typical’ household had assets of only about $270,000 and a net worth of about $218,000 in 2002.

Australians’ asset portfolios are dominated by housing. The HILDA Survey data confirm this with housing and other property constituting almost 55 per cent of all household assets and close to 75 per cent of the assets of the median household.

The second largest asset of most households is superannuation, which has become much more widely held, and somewhat more equally distributed in the last 15 years (Kelly 2001). Even so, the median household holds superannuation worth only about $18,000, though this rises to $27,000 once we focus on households in the middle of the wealth distribution. Other holdings of considerable value to some households are business assets and equity investments (such as shares, managed funds and listed property trusts).

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