, Columnist
Bigger Than Any Past Bubble: Beware of Soaring Household Assets
The market capitalization dwarfs the levels that preceded the housing crisis and the tech peak.
They eventually pop.
Photographer: Ian Kington/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
History sometimes repeats itself in the world of finance. Soaring asset prices have lifted the market capitalization of the household balance sheet to a record high, exceeding the lofty valuations of the end of the housing and tech-equity bubbles.
A recent report by the Federal Reserve showed the market value of household real and financial assets totaled a record $114.4 trillion at the end of 2017, up almost $50 trillion since 2009. That market cap was 5.9 times the level of nominal gross domestic product in 2017, exceeding the housing-bubble peak of 5.8 times in 2006 and the tech-bubble peak of 5.1 in 2000.