State policies – especially those related to housing – have been central to the emergence of China’s first generation of urban middle class citizens, viewed by many in the country as a force for political stability. Yet the long-term consequences of subsidized homeownership, coupled with local governments’ hunger for ever-new real estate projects, are being increasingly felt by China’s younger generations, who are struggling with some of the least affordable housing in the world as well as more expensive credit and with reduced opportunities for wealth creation. In this talk, Luigi Tomba will analyze the mechanisms that have led to the emergence of a generation of Chinese homeowners and the challenges ahead for the sustainability of the housing boom.