Wealth across households in the United States dropped for the first time in two years in the first three months of 2022, a Federal Reserve report released on Thursday showed.
The Fed blamed “sizeable” stock market declines that wiped out $3 trillion in the first quarter. The loss was partly offset by a $1.6 trillion increase in real-estate value and a high rate of personal savings.
Household net worth declined $0.5 trillion to $149.3 trillion in the first quarter, down from a record $149.8 trillion at the end of 2021, primarily impacted by a drop in stock prices and robust gains in house prices, the Fed said.
However, household balance sheets remained healthy overall through the first quarter, at roughly $32.5 trillion above pre-pandemic levels….