KEY POINTS:
New Zealanders will need only "a little belt-tightening" as the global economic meltdown takes hold, a nationwide firm of financial advisers says.
In its quarterly review of households' net worth, Spicers said yesterday that Kiwi families were relatively well positioned for the current volatility because of a slowing in the growth of household liabilities.
It said the average household's net worth continued to slide but at a faster rate during the June quarter. Household net worth dipped 1.7 per cent to $380,574. That followed a 1.6 per cent fall during the three months to March.
The major factor driving the decline was the same one behind the 157 per cent increase over the past five years - house prices.
The value of housing, which accounts for 80 per cent of households' net worth, fell 1.3 per cent in the quarter. Spicers said household liabilities rose 8.6 per cent in that time.
