National Wealth grew again in Q2
Canada’s national wealth grew again at the end of the second quarter of 2018, the fourth consecutive quarterly growth.
Statistics Canada says that the 1.9% increase to $11,119.4 billion outpaced the 1.3% growth of the previous quarter and was led by gains for natural resources. Real estate was another key contributor.
National wealth per capita was $288,777.
Canada’s net worth grew at slower pace than national wealth due to a weaker foreign asset position but was still 1.7% higher at $11,638.1 billion at the end of the second quarter.
The stats also show a year-over-year decline in household debt with the average household owning $1.69 for every dollar of disposable income, down 0.4% from a year earlier (although up from Q1 2018).
On an unadjusted basis, household credit market debt (consumer credit, and mortgage and non-mortgage loans) totalled $2,166.0 billion in the second quarter.
Mortgage growth slowed significantly with $3.6 billion less borrowed in Q2 2018 than in the previous quarter.
Higher household net worth
Household net worth rose 1.1% to $11,058.0 billion and the debt to asset ratio remained relatively unchanged as growth in assets narrowly outpaced growth in liabilities.
Residential real estate (now worth $5,209.8 billion) contributed most of the growth in the value of non-financial assets ($43.1 billion) but continued at a slower pace, as seen over the past year due to more moderate housing resale prices.
Financial assets increased 1.5% as domestic markets recovered from a weaker first quarter (- 0.2%). Equity and investment funds increased $48.3 billion in the second quarter, following a $48.7 billion decline in the first quarter, while life insurance and pension funds rose by $32.0 billion.
