Household net worth rose 1.3% in Q1, reaching $18.6T on an equal contribution from financial (securities) and non-financial (real estate) assets…

… which outpaced a 0.4% increase in household liabilities. Under the hood, new borrowing ($36B in Q1) is being increasingly driven by consumer credit and non-mortgage debt…

… as mortgage demand ($23B) cooled to the lowest level in two years. Growth in total credit has now outstripped income for six quarters straight…

… a trend that’s also visible in the private sector, with bond issuance and expanded debt capacity outpacing GDP growth…

… mirroring the dynamics we’ve seen in the public sector.

That leaves the country more sensitive to markets and economic outcomes, but it’s working for now…

… with national wealth gains more-than-offsetting the $310B decline in our net international investment position.

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