Villas in China aren't worth much because the logic of housing is that the house itself isn't valuable—what's valuable are the resources the house brings.

Old, small houses in Beijing hutongs selling for tens of thousands per square meter that are uninhabitable—it's the school district resources worth tens of thousands, not the house itself.

All resources have been artificially concentrated in the city center, with nothing in the suburbs. That's why suburban villas can't fetch good prices, and that's why nobody wants them.

Even commercial activity is concentrated in the city center. Who would buy suburban houses to live there? It's not just suburban villas—suburban high-rises don't sell well either.

Suburban areas lack resources, suburban villas lack resources—that's the fundamental reason Chinese people don't like suburban villas.

Which city center villas aren't worth money?

Rather than arguing that suburban villas don't sell, therefore Chinese people prefer living in cramped apartments.