Recent gains in the stock market and higher home prices helped Americans’ net worth soar to a record high in the second quarter, according to a new report by the Federal Reserve.
Net worth was up 1.7 percent during the quarter, reaching a record high of $81.5 trillion. 
American’s gains in wealth have helped to lift consumer confidence and allowed them to ramp up their borrowing, which could soon prove a boon for the economic growth too. During the second quarter, household debt rose to its fastest pace since 2007, increasing at an annual rate of 3.6 percent, compared to 2.2 percent in the first quarter.
Most of the nation’s largest wealth gains have gone to the affluent, who tend to own stocks, The Wall Street Journal reports. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index rose about 5 percent in the second quarter, while Americans also benefited from more modest gains in the real estate market. Home prices ticked up for the 12th consecutive quarter, rising 0.8 percent in the second quarter, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s home price index.
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Source: Reuters 09/18/2014 & Wall Street Journal 09/18/2014
