Household-debt warning

Net household wealth rose $28,000 on average, or almost 15 per cent, in the year to September but the boom times are ending, indicators show.

The latest Spicers Household Savings Indicators show net household wealth rising 14.8 per cent in the year to September 30 as rising house prices outpaced increases in net debt.

Spicers' chief economic adviser, Rozanna Wozniak, said the past 12 to 18 months had been a boom time for owners of residential property.

Homeowners had been amply rewarded by their "borrow-and-spend" strategy.

That said, household debt, in percentage terms, was now increasing faster than the rate of growth in asset values and house-price growth had slowed significantly.

Also, household incomes had not kept pace with the growth in debt-servicing commitments.

"It has been a great year for homeowners," Wozniak said, "but it is now time for households to show more restraint."