The net wealth of households presented in the chart corresponds to the sum of wealth in housing with financial wealth, subtracting the value of debt. Wealth in housing is the most important component of households' non-financial wealth. Financial wealth includes currency and deposits, debt securities, equity, mutual fund shares and other financial assets held by individuals. The debt consists mainly of bank loans.

Total net wealth of households, as a percentage of disposable income, has been increasing since 2013, after a gradual decline in the second half of the 2000s. This increase was due to a gradual reduction in household debt and an increase of wealth in housing since 2014. The increase in housing wealth reflects the effect of the valuation associated with the housing prices growth, more significant in the last two years.

For further details see the methodological note “Annual series on household wealth: 1980-2018” published in the Economic Bulletin of Banco de Portugal, May 2019 and respective series.

Prepared by Fátima Cardoso. The analyses, opinions and findings expressed above represent the views of the author and not necessarily those of Banco de Portugal or the Eurosystem.

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