Cypriot households are second richest in euro area

Households in Cyprus, which secured a European Union-led bailout last month, are the second richest in the euro area, European Central Bank data showed on Tuesday.

The median net wealth of Cypriot households was 266,900 euros in 2010, according to the Eurosystem Household Finance and Consumption Survey. Only Luxembourg’s households were more affluent, with median net wealth of 397,800 Euros. Households in Germany, which is contributing the lion’s share to bailouts of distressed nations, had a median net wealth of 51,400 euros. The survey spans 15 member states and looked at, among other things, the median net wealth of 62,000 households.

Der Median gibt das Vermögen desjenigen Haushaltes an, der in der Verteilung genau in der Mitte steht, der also mehr besitzt als die ärmere Hälfte der Bevölkerung, aber weniger als die reichere Hälfte. Ist der Mittelwert deutlich größer als der Median, ist das Geld sehr ungleich verteilt.
(Quellen: Nationale Notenbanken, EZB)

The 113-page report looks at a range of indicators and notes that a number of caveats may distort results. Most of the data was collected in 2010 but some was gathered in 2008 like in Spain when the housing bubble had artificially inflated Prices.

“The data for Cyprus appear not to be comparable with those for other euro area countries in a number of dimensions and should therefore be interpreted with caution,” says the report.

The report says the differences between Cyprus and other euro area countries “emanate to a large extent from historical, cultural, and institutional factors”.

Inheritances, intergenerational transfers, household composition, land ownership and allocation of household wealth between real and financial assets differ widely across the surveyed member states.

But among homeowners, the household main residence constitutes by far the most valuable asset, notes the report.

The median net wealth of homeowners across the countries surveyed is €241,200. Those with a mortgage report a median figure of €171,100, while those renting have a median net wealth of €9,100. People in southern European countries tend to own their homes and are more likely to operate a small business unlike in Germany where more people have part-time contracts and are more likely to rent. Less than 50 percent of Germans and Austrians own their own homes. The large role of public housing in Germany also contributes to lower home ownership rates,

“The low home ownership rate in Germany is in part due to the construction of social housing after World War II and in part due to taxation of owner-occupied housing and the lack of tax deductibility of interest payments on mortgages,” notes the report.

Meanwhile, households with more adults like in Cyprus, Malta and Slovakia also tend to accumulate more wealth related to real-estate than smaller households found more often in the Netherlands, Austria or Finland.

Report: Eurosystem Household Finance and Consumption Survey

Section: Economic Affairs

Tags: Social

Related: Bailout paper gives Cyprus four years to balance budget