New player looking to buy a house

So I joined FF XIV a few months ago, and I've finally reached one of my goals by saving up enough to buy a house... except there are none for sale? Did I simply join the game too late to be able to buy a house, or is there something I'm missing that I have to do before I'll have the option to buy one?

I absolutely love looking at all the different houses people have put together, and I'm feeling really discouraged right now being unable to figure out how to get one for myself.

Depending on your server it can be legitimately impossible to get a house at this point. Be sure to check all the housing areas (there are four) and all the districts (there are many). The housing system, imo, is not good - the decorations are great, the system itself is not lol.

However, there are two moments to look forward to from now.

A. [5.0+] We will probably have Ishgard soon, it sounded like it at least. So give it time for that one, and then get lucky and nab a house then. (Technically unconfirmed I think, but heavily hinted at).

Source:

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End-game content for Disciples of the Hand and Land. The Restoration of the Holy See of Ishgard! Possibly Ishgardian Housing coming as well, as it was strongly hinted based off of players constantly wishing to be able to live there… Fishers will be included in this end-game content, and there will be something like user-controlled farms. (Farmer is NOT one of the new jobs).

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B. [4.5~] We will soon have free server transfers and a system to move around servers in a data center freely. In this way you can spot a server with low population and take up a house there (you need to have your "home server" be in the place you'll buy a house so keep that in mind, same thing for FC buffs and such).

I really really hope they can make a system that allows /every single/ player and FC that wants their own customizeable space to be able to have one.

I've heard there are guilds that buy up all the houses in a district. :eek:

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Originally Posted by SturmChurro

I've heard there are guilds that buy up all the houses in a district. :eek:

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This is confirmed ;/, they use them for the garden and airship/submarine like personal retainers.

There are a limited amount of plots in the game. Every server has the same amount of plots but the population of the servers themselves can be anything from dead to overcrowded.

If there are no plots left on your server then it's likely that your server has a moderate to high population. You will have more luck finding open plots elsewhere. Some servers always have some small plots available.

SE are adding world visiting in 4.5 (early next year). World visiting allows players to visit other servers in the same data centre. However you will only be able to buy a house on your home server. When world visiting is introduced there will also be free server transfers.

What you can do is make alts on other servers and check out the housing situation there and later use the free transfer to get a house. Or you can stay on Siren and grab a plot someone else leaves behind.

The data centres are also getting split which means servers will be redistributed. The below image shows what that redistribution will be. World visiting can only be done within the same data centre, so if you have friends on Siren you still want to play with be sure to choose a server that will be in the same Data Centre.

https://i.redd.it/fmjb2vu3izy11.png

There is only a limited number of houses for each sever - and that limited number is nowhere close enough to provide everyone with a house.

You have a few options here:

1) Wait til a plot opens up - houses have an auto-demolition-feature, so if the owner of the hosue (or any FC-member in cases of FC-houses) doesnt step into their home within 45 days, the house gets demolished and the plot goes back onto the market. Note that there will be a random timer in place that prevents the plot from being purchased right away (it is there to stop "house-flipping", aka, people selling houses by basically argeeing to giving up the plot in exchange for gil). So if you cant purchase an open plot, its most likely because of that. You should also not be picky here - you can try to relocate later. The Goblet seems to be the least popular housing area, so I'd check there. Remember to check subdivisions aswell!

2) Transfer to a server with open plots - smaller servers often have open plots; we have a sub-thread in the housing-forum, where people report the amount of open plots on their server from time to time. Goblin seems to have open plots all the time. If housing is important to you, this might be an option.

3) Settle for an apartment. In each ward (+subdivision) is an apartment-building and you can buy an apartment for 500k here. Please note that its only one (rather small) room - exactly like the room you can purchase in an FC-house. It also has no outdoor-space, but the apartment-building will provide you with a stable for your chocobo at least. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for them to expand on the size of apartments some day... but for now: its only a small room (might be worth getting one just to store all the event-furniture. In this context: If you like certain event-furniture, make sure to stock up in it during the event, because you wont be able to get it again, except for paying for it with real money on the mogstation next year)
Unlike a house you cant lose your apartment through autodemolition, so even if you dont step into your room for 45 days or longer, you wont lose it.

4) Obviously, you can wait for them to add more houses in some way - they might do so come 5.0, they might not. Housing is a bit of a mess in this game... so good luck on your journey!

Yeah, plot availability definitely varies by server. I'm not sure what the population is like at Siren, but I know in Adamantoise there seems to be a relatively decent amount of open plots in most districts, though Shirogane tends to stay pretty full. I went through a ward in Mist a few weeks back and it seemed like at least a good quarter of the plots were for sale there.

You just have to be paying attention to when a plot opens up. If no ones said this so far, unlock the teleport from a capital cities aetheryte to the related housing district so you can more quickly see if there are open plots or not. From there, just have the money on hand and a bit of luck that no one else is paying attention or that youre faster than most other people.

As for housing, I typically see plots open up 2-3 times a week across Limsa, Uldah, and Grid broadly on Sarg. Just be on the lookout for them and you can get one with enough time and patience.

I play on Siren too, there are houses open from time to time. There was one open across from mine a month ago, it's already been snatched up though. Make sure you check the wards all the time.

Right now the auto demolition is off though, cause of the awful fires, so unless someone relinquishes one, plots won't be opening.

If you play on Diabolos (or transfer there when the free server transfers come up), you're more than free to try and get my house in Kugane. (I'm planning on moving to Leviathan at that point.)

I was playing the game for over a year and a half before I even considered housing other than my FC room. This was during Heavensward when there weren't even apartments to be had. When my then husbando and I decided to get one, we literally had to check the wards one by one to see if there was one available and within our budget. (We eventually found our plot, so keep at it and you'll be successful, though having a friend or husbando look while you can't helps a great deal :3).

What everyone has said so far is spot on. I've seen a lot of plots advertised in PF from people who bought and don't need or FCs upgrading so check that too. Also even if you're intent on a house I would get an apartment as Vidu mentioned. One in a different regeion or area from your chosen plot or FC. Reason? It might be superluous but if you can swing it so you have house, FC and/or apartment in different areas you can save quite a bit on teleportation costs by going to your residence first, then to whatever aether you wanted in that area. Apartments are also nice for storage if you're big on deco like I am.

If you can settle for a cottage, I'm sure you'll be able to get a house in a reasonable timeframe (maybe even a medium if you're very luck and diligent). Just remember that after the plot there's the permit. Its not a lot but if your scraping by on the gil its an extra...300k? 500k? Anyone remember?

(Note: people selling plots will often sell for the plot value PLUS what they paid for it. Also there was a post about plot selling and some action by SE. I didn't read it but buyer beware I guess)

Hold your gil, keep saving as much as you can and be patient. We might get more housing/wards in 5.0. A lot of houses will likely open up if/when that should happen because the new wards will add more supply and a new district will add a new place everyone will want to be in. I imagine Shirogane will be fairly open for a bit if we get Ishgardian housing.

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Originally Posted by Ogmion

So I joined FF XIV a few months ago, and I've finally reached one of my goals by saving up enough to buy a house... except there are none for sale? Did I simply join the game too late to be able to buy a house, or is there something I'm missing that I have to do before I'll have the option to buy one?

I absolutely love looking at all the different houses people have put together, and I'm feeling really discouraged right now being unable to figure out how to get one for myself.

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Siren usually has houses for sale. If they are sold out now it's cause of the moratorium on demolition. When that reopens you'll find quite a few up for sale so be patient.

You're on my server! I would definitely check in the Goblet, as the last time I checked there were several open plots (some at minimum price, even). We received an influx of new players recently since we became a preferred server, so that might be why there's less than there were a few months ago. If you're looking into Shirogane, definitely hop on a plot in the Goblet for now and keep watching for something to open up in Shirogane so you can move immediately when it does. As with most other servers, it's the most popular housing zone and nothing ever has the chance to drop to minimum price. Mist and Lavender Beds might be less competitive, so you could just wait and see what turns up there.

Oh, and make sure you're checking the subdivisions as well for open plots! I feel like a lot of people miss them since both the wards menu and the map display the base division by default, and you have to actually switch to the subdivisions to see what's open there.

I'll have to take a look when I get home to see if the housing situation really has ramped up since the last time I checked (week or so ago). It's crazy how busy we've gotten in such a short time...

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Originally Posted by LaylaTsarra

Siren usually has houses for sale. If they are sold out now it's cause of the moratorium on demolition. When that reopens you'll find quite a few up for sale so be patient.

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This is a good point. I forgot auto demolition was off...

Hi, I'm on Siren as too (and was lucky enough to find a small plot in Ward 14 of The Mist)

I was looking for a plot about a month ago and was checking them almost daily and there's always small plots open. Last i checked, the Goblet had TONS of open plots (although good luck finding anything in the center - people usually buy up all the center plots and leave the ones around the edges)

Heck, you can even find the occasional plot in Shirigone if you looked hard enough.

Just don't get your hopes up over a Medium or Large - they're all taken everywhere.

More housing is to come in 5.0 last I heard (supposed to be in Ishgard), so if nothing else - everybody will likely move there and open up plots in the coming months)

But yah, Siren is a smaller server - you likely just didn't look hard enough. We always have plots open in my experience.

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Originally Posted by Ogmion

So I joined FF XIV a few months ago, and I've finally reached one of my goals by saving up enough to buy a house... except there are none for sale? Did I simply join the game too late to be able to buy a house, or is there something I'm missing that I have to do before I'll have the option to buy one?

I absolutely love looking at all the different houses people have put together, and I'm feeling really discouraged right now being unable to figure out how to get one for myself.

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You currently reside on a heavily populated world, I would recommend moving once the World Visit system is available, if a house is what you really want, otherwise you have only luck on your side if you really want to find a plot on your current world.

If you are dead set on getting a house, buy the first one you can no matter where it is.

Whenever a plot becomes vacant, there is an invisible timer on it with a random duration, during which it cannot be purchased as a new plot. While this timer is still active, the plot is only available for relocation. Because of this, the first step to buying the plot you want is just buying any plot you can manage to get. If you are on a heavily populated world with infrequent housing vacancies, buy the first one you can. If you're locked out of buying it, but someone else comes around and is able to buy it, that means they transferred, and another plot opened up somewhere else--find it and see if you can buy it whenever its timer runs out.

Once you have your hands on any plot somewhere, then you can keep an eye out for a plot that you actually want and you won't be locked out of it when it opens up.

The best thing you can do is check to see if there's any up for sale as often as you can. If you have you eyes on a medium or large plot I would see about buying a small first, that way when one you want opens up you can bypass the timer and receive a 30% discount based on what you paid for the plot you currently own.

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Originally Posted by Vahlnir

a 30% discount based on what you paid for the plot you currently own.

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It's a 30% reimbursement of the minimum price of the plot, which is a little bit less than 15% of the max sale price.

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Originally Posted by Rongway

It's a 30% reimbursement of the minimum price of the plot, which is a little bit less than 15% of the max sale price.

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Ah, gotcha.

OP I'm looking at two cottages in a goblet subdivision as I type this. Goblet isn't as grand as the others but it's a start and don't forget you can always transfer/relocate to a different place and different size. Not to mention in 5.0 we will be rebuilding Ishgard and get more housing, so work on those crafting and gathering jobs!

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Originally Posted by Final-Fantasy

You currently reside on a heavily populated world, I would recommend moving once the World Visit system is available, if a house is what you really want, otherwise you have only luck on your side if you really want to find a plot on your current world.

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Uhhh, what? Siren is one of the lower populated servers - they made it a preferred server recently to get more traffic.

OP, I checked and there are definitely plots available in the Goblet. Make sure you're looking at the subdivisions as well as the main divisions and you should find your first home fairly quickly. ^^

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Originally Posted by Ogmion

So I joined FF XIV a few months ago, and I've finally reached one of my goals by saving up enough to buy a house... except there are none for sale? Did I simply join the game too late to be able to buy a house, or is there something I'm missing that I have to do before I'll have the option to buy one?

I absolutely love looking at all the different houses people have put together, and I'm feeling really discouraged right now being unable to figure out how to get one for myself.

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Come to Goblin. We still have many plots left...

that anti-resale timer is going to be your biggest obstacle to buying your first plot, even moreso than there not being any available, which is hilarious because the very thing they implemented to prevent house flipping also screws new players out of housing so badly

Best bet is to just keep looking. It took me over 3 years to get a house..
Check Goblet as Nyvara said, players tend to not like that area as much so you can probably get one and re-locate later on.

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Originally Posted by Maero

Best bet is to just keep looking. It took me over 3 years to get a house..
Check Goblet as Nyvara said, players tend to not like that area as much so you can probably get one and re-locate later on.

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I lived in the Goblet for awhile. Honestly? It's not too bad. But I do think they could improve the scenery to make it more appealing. The pool at the center was a nice start, but I feel that they should extend the high class resort feel to the rest of the zone.

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Originally Posted by Maero

Check Goblet as Nyvara said, players tend to not like that area as much

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Yea... I can certainly confirm that some players *really* don't like that place. >.>

Does anyone know when this auto-demolish feature will be turned back on?

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Originally Posted by Ogmion

Yea... I can certainly confirm that some players *really* don't like that place. >.>

Does anyone know when this auto-demolish feature will be turned back on?

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Fair enough, I can definitely understand wanting a house in a zone you enjoy. Unfortunately, SE haven't given an estimate for when they'll turn it back on, so you'll have to wait for an announcement.

You could try checking your desired housing zone every so often to see if there are any openings (this is how I got my house, way back when it was full everywhere) - even with auto-demo off, people do leave the server or demolish their houses for whatever reason from time to time. If you have enough of a cushion gil-wise, look into getting one of those minimum-price Goblet houses as a placeholder and then you can quickly relocate as soon as you see an open plot in the area you want, without having to wait for the resell timer.

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Originally Posted by Ogmion

Yea... I can certainly confirm that some players *really* don't like that place. >.>

Does anyone know when this auto-demolish feature will be turned back on?

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They just reinstated it for the JP servers, which had been suspended since end of July.

My guess is they'll time it on the NA servers to coincide with the data center reorganization.

They occasionally add new wards which is probably the best time to buy a house. But you may have to wait for that to happen.

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Originally Posted by Ogmion

Yea... I can certainly confirm that some players *really* don't like that place. >.>

Does anyone know when this auto-demolish feature will be turned back on?

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As Astarotha mentioned above, when a house is released there's going to be a random hidden timer on the plot (the timer you can see is for devaluation) that will make it so anyone without a plot can't buy it, whereas anyone currently with a plot can move to it. Usually what happens now is people will settle in to a goblet plot and then wait for something to open up in an area they actually desire and then immediately move there. Your best bet is going to be purchasing a small plot anywhere it's available and then moving when a desirable plot is available. You can move from any size/location to any available size/location.

Back before I knew how the housing system worked I was asking the same question about how to get a house, even had to look up what an empty plot looks like on google to know what I was looking for since at the time my server had no housing plots available (we have plots available now).

First time house hunters have some options here:

1) You can choose to purchase a small house in any ward in any housing area and then make use of relocate to instantly move to any housing location that opens up at a later point in time.
2) You could also purchase an apartment for a once off fee of 500k Gil.
3) You could join a FC and make use of the FC house facilities.
4) You can purchase a room (basically an apartment) inside of the FC for 300k gil which is slightly cheaper than purchasing an apartment outright.

The best option is number 1 since it future proofs you in the sense if the dream plot opens up and you can afford it you can purchase it straight away thanks to relocation if you are the first one there (be sure to check your storeroom status to be sure you are eligible to relocate). The other options are mainly for the situation where there's no housing available at all on a server and none are opening up (even goblet housing). If this is the case you can definitely do some good things with an apartment to make it look nice so don't write them off just because they don't have a garden.

Plenty of small houses up for sale on molboro right now if you have to get one or are still looking, also Elysian Fields FC would welcome you!

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Originally Posted by Vahlnir

I lived in the Goblet for awhile. Honestly? It's not too bad. But I do think they could improve the scenery to make it more appealing. The pool at the center was a nice start, but I feel that they should extend the high class resort feel to the rest of the zone.

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When housing first came out it was not as appealing. For whatever reason some players feel the same, myself last housing update i went straight to Goblet and got my house and i do not mind the area at all.

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Originally Posted by Maero

When housing first came out it was not as appealing. For whatever reason some players feel the same, myself last housing update i went straight to Goblet and got my house and i do not mind the area at all.

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I have a friend who actually transferred out of their Lavender Beds plot 7 (right across from mine) to a plot in Goblet simply because they liked it better there. So it's not everyone's last choice.

I did go to at least look at the goblet and actually happened to stumble across a plot on a block where everyone's house was decorated in the theme I wanted (ward 10, plot 2 if anyone cares). So even if I don't like the area I do like my new neighborhood, and I'll look to relocate in the future as many of you have suggested.

Thank you everyone for all the information and advice!

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Originally Posted by Ogmion

I did go to at least look at the goblet and actually happened to stumble across a plot on a block where everyone's house was decorated in the theme I wanted (ward 10, plot 2 if anyone cares). So even if I don't like the area I do like my new neighborhood, and I'll look to relocate in the future as many of you have suggested.

Thank you everyone for all the information and advice!

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Yay! Congrats on your first house purchase! ^^

I'm sure you will find a place to relocate eventually if you want to, but I'm glad you're enjoying your new neighborhood for now!

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Originally Posted by Ogmion

I did go to at least look at the goblet and actually happened to stumble across a plot on a block where everyone's house was decorated in the theme I wanted (ward 10, plot 2 if anyone cares). So even if I don't like the area I do like my new neighborhood, and I'll look to relocate in the future as many of you have suggested.

Thank you everyone for all the information and advice!

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Congrats :)

Hey, grats on your new home! I'm glad you found something :D

Congrats on your new house. Had i been on your server i would go visit :)