It’s literally a shortage on most NA worlds, even after the additional wards were added in January. I don’t think there’s anything like preferred wards, since with lotto RNG, it’s not like you can create neighborhoods with your friends. Sure some people still go for dream plots, but there’s multiple bids on everything and many people have yet to win a lotto. Moving servers isn’t a viable option for everyone, especially those that have been playing for years. The new servers will fill with new players, as they should, now that most NA worlds are locked. At any rate, it seems like a lot of people who “moved” to Dynamis just moved their alts to get a house and not enough moved their mains, hence many people DC traveling to the other NA DCs for liveable que times.

Point being, no matter what server you’re on, there’s not enough houses for the amount of players allowed to be on that server. It’s not like they lock worlds when houses run out. If the game continues to grow in popularity, even Dynamis will have the same issue in a few years. And there will never be enough mediums and larges for those who want upgrades. The old advice of “settle for what you can get and just relocate later” is near impossible with the lottery.

So I’m pretty solidly in the “add instanced already” camp. Let those who want to fight it out in the wards with the lotto go for it. Just add instanced so everyone can have the house they want.