The Fast and Furious movie franchise is a medieval joust played out on today’s streets, with Dominic Toretto and his gang of modern knights riding souped-up mechanical chargers.

The high point of each movie is a street duel where Toretto faces off against a merciless enemy. The evil protagonist is about to best our hero when, in the nick of time, Toretto presses the little button that injects his street steed with a secret nitrous oxide booster. Then, boom — the CGI effects go wild, N2O surges and supercharges the car’s engine, which screams into action and rockets our champion to victory.

The real estate industry’s version of N2O is middle-class growth, especially in Asia.

All-consuming numbers

The Brookings Institution offers keen insights into this growth dynamic. Its latest research says 140 million people are currently propelled into the middle class each year. Within half a decade, this figure will rise to 170 milli