Duke, are you sure about that? The first reference I found was in a bulletin board, and said:

Quote:
Unrealized capital gains in houses, IRA's, 401K's, etc. are not included in the savings rate. Money you put into IRA's and 401K's is included.


Those capital gains are an increase in wealth, but they aren't really savings. The big recent runup in housing prices has made homeowners feel richer, but unless they aren't planning to buy another house after they sell theirs and don't intend to live very long, that is largely an illusion. You have to live somewhere.