Australians are a lot richer than they think thanks to rising house prices and a recovering share market boosting wealth levels.
While many people paying off a mortgage won't feel rich, the statistics say otherwise with average household wealth surging by 20.3 per cent during the past year.
As of June, per capita wealth stood at $522,032 based on the average riches of both couples living together and singles as measured by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Postcodes near schools have done particularly well, with house prices in some suburbs of Sydney climbing by $900,000 in just a year.
Net household wealth is based on subtracting debt from what people own outright, from the equity in their home to shares, superannuation, cryptocurrency, bank savings and assets like cars and boats.
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Australians are a lot richer than they think with rising house prices and a recovering share market boosting wealth levels. As of June, per capita wealth stood at $522,032 based on the average riches of both couples living together and singles as measured by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (pictured are walkers at Sydney's Bondi Beach)
From the start of April until the end of June, as Sydney went into lockdown, average wealth levels increased by $27,782 or 5.6 per cent.
CommSec senior economist Ryan Felsman said record-low interest rates and federal government stimulus measures, like HomeBuilder subsidies, had boosted wealth, despite weak wages growth.
'So while wage growth remains tepid, the value of assets is surging,' he said.
In the year to August, Australian property prices climbed by 18.4 per cent, the fastest annual pace since July 1989, as Sydney's median house value surged by 26 per cent to $1.293million.
The Australian share market's benchmark S&P/ASX200 during the past year has climbed by 25 per cent, briefly touching record highs in mid-August.
By comparison, wages are growing at an annual pace of just 1.7 per cent and have been below the
