Canadians' net worth rises in 2008 2Q

OTTAWA, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- The average national net worth of Canadians rose 2 percent to $174,300 in the second quarter of 2008, the Statistics Canada agency reported Monday.

From April through June net worth increased from $171,500 in the first quarter, and residential real estate accounted for about half of the gain, the report said.

"National wealth, defined as the sum of economy-wide non-financial assets, amounted to $5.9 trillion, up 2.7 percent from the previous quarter," StatsCan said. "Households had 19.6 cents of debt for every dollar of net worth and $1.25 of debt for every dollar of personal disposable income."

During the second quarter, the value of foreign assets held by Canadians decreased in light of the appreciating Canadian dollar, while non-resident holdings of Canadian equities were up strongly during the quarter, StatsCan said.

The net worth balance sheet can be seen at www.statscan.ca.