Lack of housing plots are a huge factor in the buying / selling of Gil.

[BreathlessTao]

House prices really aren't that bad if you're a crafter, sell carries or buy/sell "hot" items.

....and if you're not, you shouldn't even think about wanting a house, because you're just a scrub and scrubs should be glad for just being able to play the game at all, right? Point is: too many people are not in any of those groups.

SE really screwed up the housing system, on several levels. Lumping it together with FC housing was really a huge letdown. Availability has been and will forever be way more than simply "inadequate". Prices have been ridiculous, and it doesn't really matter that they aren't anymore, because there are no plots left to buy - it doesn't really matter that they aren't anymore, because current owners can and do ask outrageous amounts of gil just to give up their plots, which then also have to be bought, of course. The fact that there is no restriction whatsoever on how many plots someone can buy up is incredibly bad. The fact that there is no proper ownership transfer system is hilariously awful. The fact that abandoned plots don't get automatically relinquished is incredibly stupid.

Yes, they are putting some band-aids on the whole housing system in patch 3.1 - how much time after the feature has been out? A year? Or even more? Yes, it's a good thing, better than nothing for sure - but the fact remains: it's way too late. The damage is done, and the whole thing has bled out more times than once by now, it's like kissing the dead princess and hoping she'll live once again.

Is housing the main reason for people buying gil? Probably not. Is it one of the main reasons? For sure. Save for carries in current end-game content, it is the single most expensive feature in the game. People don't need tens of millions of gil for other things, and that's another fact.

[Xerius]

I have been playing for almost a year and have saved 30m solely waiting for a plot to open.

When I actually decided to buckle down and farm the Gil to buy a mansion. It took me less than 1 month of farming about 1-2 hours a day to actually grind out the Gil for the plot. Now the amount of Gil will vary from server-to-server, but that's why housing prices are different from server-to-server.

[Elim]

....and if you're not, you shouldn't even think about wanting a house, because you're just a scrub and scrubs should be glad for just being able to play the game at all, right? Point is: too many people are not in any of those groups.

O.O I don't know why you think people are scrubs if they aren't in any of those groups. Everyone, even the most casual of casuals, can though. If they decide to. Some casuals do nothing but craft and are super rich!

I agree that the housing system is not the best one out there, even if l enjoy it.

[jomoru]

When private home owners or those who are no longer interested in leading their FC try to sell their plots, they usually ask for an incredibly unfair and illogical number to just relinquish the land. Usually close to the price of the actual plot itself.

I understand it can feel unfair to be unable to get what you want especially when you work hard towards it. But I have to ask what do you think is a fair price to charge? I mean they've sunk in at least 30m I don't think its particularly unfair for them to want it back. Perhaps if there were some way to sell directly to the new person..

[Ametrine]

O.O I don't know why you think people are scrubs if they aren't in any of those groups. Everyone, even the most casual of casuals, can though. If they decide to. Some casuals do nothing but craft and are super rich!

I agree that the housing system is not the best one out there, even if l enjoy it.

Another method of making insane cash is farming those super popular minion drops that are worth 1mil+. I have a fellow FC member that did that while grinding his tomes. I've made enough for an Owlet just selling the junk my retainers bring me and materia. So much materia.

The thing is, I really don't care for crafting. I'm leveling my gatherer jobs, but just sitting in place next to a retainer bell with 10 other people making various crafting noises is grinding in all sorts of ways that make it aggravating. Those Blacksmith noises, especially, hurt my teeth. @_@

[aesteval]

Another method of making insane cash is farming those super popular minion drops that are worth 1mil+. I have a fellow FC member that did that while grinding his tomes. I've made enough for an Owlet just selling the junk my retainers bring me and materia. So much materia.

The thing is, I really don't care for crafting. I'm leveling my gatherer jobs, but just sitting in place next to a retainer bell with 10 other people making various crafting noises is grinding in all sorts of ways that make it aggravating. Those Blacksmith noises, especially, hurt my teeth. @_@

If everybody had their own house and retainer bells you may not have as many people crafting publicly. ;-)

Though personal marketboards would probably be required for that as well.

[Talnoy]

I fail to understand all the whinging about house prices. If I buy a house for 5 million then pay for the deed and deck it out with furnishings that can't be recovered why would I sell it for less than what I payed overall for it. If a player chooses to relinquish a plot except them to at least break even, if not try and make some money of it.

[Ashkendor]

But every time I try to negotiate a plot price, it's always 20-30m just for the relinquishing of the land.

Depending on what size plots you're after, that may possibly just be what they paid for the plot in the first place.

I don't think it's unfair at all for them to ask to get their money back in return for relinquishing it.

I understand it can feel unfair to be unable to get what you want especially when you work hard towards it. But I have to ask what do you think is a fair price to charge? I mean they've sunk in at least 30m I don't think its particularly unfair for them to want it back. Perhaps if there were some way to sell directly to the new person..

Exactly. You paying the person to relinquish the plot is just their way of getting the money back they put into the land, which they have every right to do. If they aren't getting their money back, why would they relinquish it in the first place? The fact that you then have to purchase it from the system is none of their concern.

It'd be a lot nicer if there was a way to do direct player to player purchases on housing plots.

[Kydi]

I'm just holding out hope that when they move everyone to shiny new EU datacenters they've added a ton of space for extra housing wards (and the old servers which were EU in Chaos become housing wards) or use them as instance servers for specific housing, although it'd be annoying not to be able to /tell someone in an instanced house.

[StouterTaru]

When private home owners or those who are no longer interested in leading their FC try to sell their plots, they usually ask for an incredibly unfair and illogical number to just relinquish the land.

People pay those amounts though. Would it be fair and logical to relinquish for 10M when someone else would pay 20M for it?

RMT will exist as long as there is something of value they can sell for real money. When nothing like that exists in game, RMT will be gone, along with the majority of the players.