American households saw their wealth increase this spring for the first time in nearly two years as the waning recession breathed new life into stock portfolios and home values.

The Federal Reserve says household net worth grew by $2 trillion to $53.1 trillion in the April-to-June quarter.

Net worth, or the value of assets such as homes, checking accounts and investments minus debts like mortgages and credit cards, rose by nearly 4 percent from the first quarter, the Federal Reserve says.

But even with the gain, Americans' net worth remains far below its peak of $65.3 trillion logged in the third quarter of 2007, underscoring the bite the recession has taken out of people's wealth.