Household Finance and Consumption Survey 2023

As property is the largest component of net wealth in Ireland, it is unsurprising that households that own the household main residence (HMR), or owner-occupiers, have significantly higher net wealth than renters. The median net wealth of owner-occupiers in 2023 was €391,600 compared with €10,200 for renters. Even though renters had a lower median net wealth, it grew at a higher rate than owner-occupiers. Renters saw a 34% increase in median net wealth since 2020 whereas owner-occupiers saw a 24% increase. See figure 5.1, table 5.1 and PxStat table HFC2042.

Renters were less likely to own any of the recorded assets but when it came to “Other Financial Assets”, they were almost on a par with owner-occupiers. One in ten (9.9%) renters owned these compared with 10.5% for owner-occupiers. “Other Financial Assets” includes various financial assets such as managed funds, options, index certificates, precious metals, cryptocurrency, etc. See figure 5.2 and PxStat table HFC2007.

The asset portfolio of owner-occupiers was dominated by real assets such as land and property with increases seen in the median values of all of these since 2020. Owner-occupiers had maintained the same level of savings since 2020 with a median value of €13,700 in both 2023 and 2020. See figure 5.3 and PxStat table HFC2007.

For 2023, while owner-occupiers maintained their level of savings from 2020, the same could not be said of renters. The median value of savings for renters decreased from €4,100 in 2020 to €3,100 in 2023. Decreases seen in the median value of some financial assets, such as voluntary pensions and shares, for renters since 2018 can be partially explained by increased levels of participation. Those starting off with these investments being more likely to invest lower amounts to begin with, hence lowering the median. See figure 5.4 and PxStat table HFC2007.