In a fast-growing city, many buildings will be replaced by larger ones in a decade or two. Property developers probably take this into account, thus do not hesitate to build low-quality non-durable housing. If the city growth stops at some point and buildings are no longer quickly replaced, then the owners of such housing will get an unpleasant surprise.
People buying or building detached houses do not seem to take city growth into account, because at least in Canberra, I see the erection of large expensive mansions in districts where the house will in 20-30 years be surrounded by high apartment buildings. Tall structures around a mansion tend to reduce its value, and certainly make the garden less private. The investment in fancy gardens, backyard swimming pools, etc, seems a bit short-sighted in locations close to the centre of a growing city.
The mansions also fill most of the plot of land on which they stand, so from an energy efficiency point of view, they might as well join walls with neighbours, as I have written before.