Bundesbank: Each household owns 214,000 euros – on average – SPIEGEL ONLINE

The Bundesbank is not known to formulate sharpened their study results. When it comes about the development in house prices, the Federal bankers regularly point out that despite significant increases no housing bubble was observed.

In its latest report on assets and finances of private households in Germany, the Bundesbank is prominent: In the first paragraph, it notes that inequality in Germany is significantly higher than the average of the euro zone – and indeed on several possible metrics.

For the second time, the Bundesbank from April surveyed until 2014 representatively selected households for their finances. The first survey took place in 2010 and was published three years later. Even then, the Bundesbank had stated a relatively large wealth gap in Germany. That has not changed in the four years between the surveys something. Inequality has become even slightly larger. (You can find the monthly report of the Bundesbank as a PDF file.)

So possessed 2014 the lower half of households only 2.5 percent of the total net assets. The top ten percent of households were however 59.8 percent of assets. In 2010 there were 59.2 per cent.

Even the so-called Gini coefficient is again increased slightly by 0.2 percentage points to 76 percent. It measures the distribution – the higher the percentage, the more unequal wealth are distributed. By comparison, in the entire euro zone, the Gini coefficient in 2014 was therefore 69 per cent. Even in the most traditional of inequality embossed USA he was in 2013 at around 80 percent. In Germany, the wealth inequality is so much closer to the states in the United States than in the European Monetary Union.

the private assets in Germany from 2010 Overall increased slightly by 2014. On average, the gross assets per household amounted to 240,200 euros (2010: 222.200 EUR). Subtracting the debt of households from, there is an average net worth of 214,500 Euro (2010: 195,200 euros).

German in the euro area Comparison relatively incapable

The average value of the net assets, the so-called median, so is significantly lower. To determine the median of the households in a richer and poorer half are shared. The assets of the household in the middle is the media assets. This was in 2014 when net 60,400 Euro (2010: 51,400 euros). This is an increase by 18 percent within four years, and thus corresponds to the increase in disposable income. The large difference between average and median wealth is another sign of high inequality, the authors write.

In a European comparison, the Germans have a very low capacity. So the net media assets was in Italy in 2014 at about 138,000 euros. However, this is partly on the methodology of measuring assets: So are about the claims of a private pension for assets – but not the rights to the statutory pension insurance. In addition, the in Germany with 44 percent relatively low proportion of households precipitates which have their residential real estate itself – in other European countries, property ownership is more widespread.

The information recorded by the Bundesbank assets include tangible assets such as real estate, commercial establishments, jewelery or cars and financial assets, including securities and stocks. be deducted from this debt, such as mortgages or consumer loans

The development of interest rates and house prices, therefore, goes well with the private wealth down. So especially households with real estate holdings from 2010 to 2014 recorded significant growth. In half of these households, the net assets increased by more than 33,500 euros. The majority of tenants had to loud Bundesbank study content with growth of less than 1,000 euros – or even lost assets

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