"[A]s Elizabeth Warren has argued, the idea that most Americans have been spending frivolously on consumer goods actually isn’t true. Instead, a hefty chunk of the increase in consumption in recent decades has been the result of higher housing prices"

I don't disagree, but past 1-2 decades have seen commoditization of housing, housing and related products started to resemble more and more like consumer goods in the U.S. than in any other country.