So, what now? Lotteries with 150+ bids until... when?

[Jojoya]

this.
housing is supposed to be limited and prestigious. its been that way since housing was first implemented.

Official SE citation needed.

I walked up to a house with no bidders, paid and got it the next day. Same with my friend who is now my neighbour. The supply is not enough but the current system is vastly superior to the old one.

And just what year and world did this happen?

I won't deny that it was much easier to get a house at certain times in the past but that was because the supply was meeting or exceeding demand.

Those days are gone. The player base has quadrupled in size while we've only gotten a 40% increase in the number of houses. The demand far exceeds the supply, not the other way around.

Going back to placard spam means so many players camping the same placard that you won't be able to see them all. We already had that happening last year even on Goblet smalls.

It also would bring back the RMT sellers and their click bots in droves. The current system can't stop RMT but it has curtailed it.