I think consumption in China is structurally constrained. The dominant urban model today, dense apartment complexes with shared infrastructure, is efficient but not consumption-expanding. When families live in standardized units with limited private ownership, there is little incentive or need to accumulate durable goods beyond a narrow set.
Detached housing changes that equation entirely. A privately owned house pulls in continuous consumption: HVAC systems, appliances, furniture, tools, landscaping equipment, home electronics, renovation materials, insurance, and maintenance services. It also raises demand for personal vehicles, roads, fuel, utilities, and logistics. Land sales increase. So does local government revenue tied to property, transport, and services. The entire economic surface area expands. Apartments compress demand. Suburbs stretch it. Urban sprawl is often framed as inefficient, but from a consumption and growth perspective, it is powerful. A household with its own land behaves differently than one embedded in a managed complex. Inventory accumulation rises. Replacement cycles shorten. Services diversify.
I know many in China and here dislike the idea of suburbanization. But having a larger private space, actual soil you own, room to modify and expand, creates a sense of autonomy that materially changes behavior. It encourages spending, customization, and long-term investment. That shift would not just alter housing patterns. It would reshape consumption itself.
