Household wealth in Australia increased for the seventh consecutive quarter, rising by 1.5% or $250 billion in June 2024, according to data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Total household wealth reached $16.5 trillion in the June quarter, marking a 9.3% ($1.4 trillion) increase compared to the same period last year. The primary driver of this growth was the rise in the value of residential land and dwellings, which contributed 1.3% to the quarterly increase.
Dr. Mish Tan, Head of Finance Statistics at the ABS, noted: "House prices have continued to rise across most states and territories, despite high interest rates. This largely reflects ongoing housing supply constraints and increased investor activity during the quarter."
Superannuation assets also supported household wealth, growing by 0.3% ($13.7 billion) in the June quarter.
Meanwhile, the maturation of the final allowance under the Term Funding Facility (TFF) from the COVID-19 pandemic on June 30, 2024, has affected bank funding across financial markets.
The Australian banking sector's exchange settlement accounts with the Reserve Bank of Australia fell by $106.5 billion (32.3%) as $105 billion of securitised bonds returned to bank balance sheets.
To ensure adequate liquidity, banks purchased $23.1 billion in national general government bonds and $16.0 billion in semi-government bonds.
Dr. Tan explained, "The TFF provided banks with access to low-cost funding during the pandemic. With the final maturation in June, banks have returned to more traditional funding sources."
Total demand for credit in the June quarter was $97.9 billion, driven primarily by households ($57.5 billion) and private non-financial businesses ($36.9 billion). This figure was slightly offset by a $2.2 billion decrease in credit demand from the general government sector.
