Household wealth is nearing record

The net worth of U.S. families rises to the highest level since the Great Recession.

Americans have finally regained much of the assets lost in the Great Recession, and total household wealth could soon hit an all-time high, experts said.

Before the recession, U.S. household wealth peaked at $67.4 trillion, but that plunged to $51.2 trillion in 2009.

At the end of 2012, household net worth was back up to $66.1 trillion — up $1.2 trillion from three months earlier — the Federal Reserve said Thursday. The next official figures from the Fed won’t be out until after the end of the current quarter, but economist Esmael Adibi said that because of the surge in housing prices and the stock market, a new record is in the offing.

“Assuming there is not a big correction in the stock market from now till the end of the month, I believe that the net worth will hit an alltime high,” said Adibi, director of the A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research at Chapman University.

Household wealth is tallied using the value of homes, bank accounts and stock market shares after deducting debts such as mortgages.

Affluent Americans have reaped the most benefit from the surging stock market, while those lower on the income totem pole are enjoying a slower rise in housing prices.

Some experts say the average consumer has become more careful with his or her finances. So spending may not get much of a boost even as Americans see a rebound in home equity and in their retirement accounts.

shan.li@latimes.com