So, a lottery system and a divide between FC and solo wards, eh?

[Celef]

We all agree Yoshida-san and his team saved the game; no poitnt on that but it is time they face the truth and admitt their housing system is broken.
Just say "we f**ed up" and change it to a better one.
It's ok to make mistake, what is not is to keep pretenting a broken system is working and adding new crappy system to try and solve the issues that could easely be solved via an instanced housing system....

We have a very nice instanced system via the appartmen, just do the same thing with houses or give us a hugae balcony so we can use all the outdoor furnitures too...

[Canadane]

I dislike the idea of a lottery system only because it lowers the chance of an active participant getting a house.
But it remains to be seen how it'll be implemented.

[NyannCat]

Eh, I'm not a fan at all of a rental system. But I do agree that there is an issue with people basically squatting on houses and not using them or doing anything with them. Maybe just a more frequent check-in requirement or a way to cede your house/plot back to the system with no money lost (assuming such a thing doesn't already exist).

More frequent check-in requirement wouldn't change anything, since you get an e-mail warning the removal of your house anyway. People would just get the e-mail more frequently.

A rent fee isn't unreasonable, especially paired with a lottery system.

And honestly, I have no self interest when I say this, since I already have a house. But I hate that wards feel so dead and empty because players are holding them FOR NO REASON. I just think housing should be for actually active players. I just want more active neighbors to hang out with.
But at the same time, I don't want new people getting houses through lotteries and then holding them forever while they remain inactive, dead and empty.

The lottery system would make it easy for ANYONE to get a house. But that would be really bad if they aren't going to use them. Lottery systems need a counterweight to it.

[Imora]

Lottery system is effectively the same as the current system except you don't need to be physically at the sign, spam clicking it in the hopes that you are the one who can click "Buy" when it finally becomes available. Either way the person who gets the plot is up to chance, but now you don't need to damage yourself by staying up for 24 hours camping the plot, or running a bot to do it for you.

It's true it doesn't fix the lack of supply but it does fix a serious problem with the current purchasing system. Even if there were enough plots for everyone, there would still be competition for the most desirable ones such as larges or plots in attractive locations, so a lottery system is a valid addition either way.

Nah just let's the guy with 250 million but no house bid in the lottery for every small house in the ward.

[Almagnus1]

Nah just let's the guy with 250 million but no house bid in the lottery for every small house in the ward.

Lottery =/= Auction

[Imora]

Lottery =/= Auction

If all you gotta do is walk up to a sign and drop a deposit, the ultra rich get to drop cash at everything to increase their chances.

Nope, should be one entry, pick your plot wisely.

[ForteNightshade]

The problem isn't that they don't want to supply, is that they can't. There are data issues.
People keep asking for the same thing, but it's just not doable.

Correction: It isn't doable under the flawed and horribly designed system they're stubbornly cling onto.

Instanced housing literally fixes this entire problem even if they want to keep the wards. At least then people have an option to fall back on, especially when we only see new housing districts every four years or so. Even different apartment sizes would help mitigate things. It's absurd practically every other MMO, many with half the budget and manpower of FFXIV, have implemented a better housing system. They just won't let go of a failed Ward system.

Rental fees accomplish nothing. They will never be high enough to impact rich players because if they were, far more players without deep pockets would be impacted. For reference sake, I have several times more gil than my friend does. So a rent of 48M annually (4M per month) would bankrupt her whereas I could do literally nothing for years before running out of gil. This essentially forces her to partake in things she doesn't like such as crafting (at least for profit) simply to keep her house. It also makes taking breaks harder. What would end up happening is people simply turn to RMT.

[Almagnus1]

If all you gotta do is walk up to a sign and drop a deposit, the ultra rich get to drop cash at everything to increase their chances.

Nope, should be one entry, pick your plot wisely.

So what details do you have on how this system actually works?

How do you know the super rich are going to buy more than one house?

[Vidu]

Also, supply isn't an issue, to be honest. The biggest problem is that every ward is filled with empty abandoned houses. Because there is no cost to keep them.
Housing needs a weekly/monthly fee for rent cost or something, so people will have to be active enough to keep their houses. I see so many houses in my ward that haven't been touched in months, and I never see my neighbors. Meanwhile people keep wanting more wards, more plots. Why?
Why do you need more plots and wards if those are also going to be filled by empty abandoned houses?

I dont really see how rent would fix the problem you see with empty/abandoned houses? How would paying rent encourage someone who hasnt decorated their house (yet) to do so? How would paying rent create the time, motivation, idea and/ore ressources in this home owner who isnt using their house "properly"?
It wouldnt - people would just pay the rent aswell if they're thinking something along the lines of "One day I'll have the time to decoarte the house..." or "If I ever have an idea on how to decorate a house, it will be there waiting for me!"

I dont see how paying rent would encourage people to use their houses more than they already do.

[Canadane]

If all you gotta do is walk up to a sign and drop a deposit, the ultra rich get to drop cash at everything to increase their chances.

Nope, should be one entry, pick your plot wisely.

No actually I wouldn't mind it if you could drop a deposit on multiple plots.
Just make the deposit non-refundable if you don't get picked.