How did we get here?

[Scarlowe]

I do personally think that apartments should have been available with 1-3 floor upgrade options, to be used for personal housing.

^ This, a million times this. I for one would be perfectly happy with an apartment if they weren't limited to one tiny square room. Being able to add an extra floor would help a lot, and adding some kind of terrace or garden where you could have a bit of an exterior and a view would make the whole thing feel a bit less like a "band-aid until you can manage to swing a house". I get why people would prefer the wards with neighbors you can actually physically see and interact with in a more "realistic" way, but apartment-type stuff does work and that's how most MMOs do it these days (sandboxes are a different beast altogether), either through instancing or phasing. And how hard can it be to have options to "upgrade" your apartment to a cottage, house or mansion interior, at the very least?