Changes in the wealth of the household sector affect final consumption expenditure by households and, accordingly, final demand in the economy. The South African Reserve Bank (the Bank) published official balance-sheet estimates for the household sector for the first time in the June 2006 Quarterly Bulletin in an article entitled “Estimating household sector wealth in South Africa” by J Aron, J Muellbauer and J Prinsloo. These estimates, which covered the period from 1975 to 2005, were used as basis for the refinement of the Bank’s quarterly estimates of household balance-sheet aggregates for South Africa. Taking account of new sources and standard international practice, the computation of household wealth was enhanced and extended to cover the period since 2005.