U.S. Household Wealth Is More Concentrated in Equities Than Ever Before

U.S. household equity exposure has climbed to a record 39.9% of total household net worth.
That share has increased by 12.6 percentage points since the 2022 bear market.
At the same time, owners’ equity in residential real estate has fallen to 19.3% of household net worth, down 3.5 percentage points and the lowest share since Q2 2021.
That measure reflects the market value of homes minus outstanding mortgage and home-loan debt.
The gap between household exposure to equities and residential real estate has now widened to a record 20.6 percentage points.
For comparison, during the housing boom in Q3 2005, real estate exposure peaked at 24.1% of household net worth and was still about 1 percentage point higher than equity exposure.
Today, the relationship has completely reversed.
Household wealth is now far more dependent on the stock market than on residential real estate, increasing sensitivity to major moves in equity prices.
That concentration can amplify the wealth effect in both directions, supporting spending when stocks rise but creating a larger potential hit to household balance sheets if markets fall sharply.