But the burden of servicing this debt represents only 8 per cent of disposable income -- well down from the peak in 1990 -- and is expected to continue to fall as debt is rolled over, or new debt taken on, at lower interest rates. In addition, over three-quarters of household debt is in mortgages, which have financed the purchase of houses.
Households have also been accumulating financial investments. In fact, the net worth of the household sector has been rising, although, of course, the assets and debts are not equally distributed across households.