Housing does suck. But if they made apartments more viable then that would help with the housing just a bit. https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/477393

That thread covers what would be ideal and was originally created by Little Arrow.

1. Add an instanced "outdoor" porch:
This to me is possibly the biggest feature that could help players feel they're not missing out on not owning a home, but also not taking away from those that do. A small porch / outdoor area where people can decorate with outdoor furnishing would add more value to the seasonal events and foster good will with players. It wouldn't be as big as the small house yard, but it would at least give players an option.

2. Increase the floorspace (not the floors):
Currently the floorsize of an apartment is not terrible, but could be increased. I could be wrong, but it seems smaller than the basement of small houses. I think it should be increased to the size of the basement of small houses. (I personally believe this should be increased further to the first floor of a medium house) This would be a great quality of life change for apartments and still preserve the special feeling of small/med/large houses of having mult floors.

3. Increase the item space:
Personally, all houses should have an increase item size of at least 50-100. Again, this would allow players more options and higher value all the furnishings added to the game.

4. Provide an option to upgrade apartments to multiple floors in the future:
This is a shot in the dark, but maybe the apartments could be provided with upgrade feature to increase the floors to a small/med/large (penthouse!). Although the outdoor space would stay the same or increase only slightly (still keeping value to the houses), this would provide so many players with the fun of having a home without the disappointment of the very limited current housing system!
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Honestly, I love gardening and if they would just let me have a balcony in my apartment that I could garden in, or even let me drop plots on my island sanctuary, then I wouldn't be so desperate for a home of my own. I used to have a medium (before the lottery) but lost it when RL hit me hard. Been trying to get a small just so I could garden again and it has been hell trying to get even a small plot on my server. But then again, I wasn't expecting Faerie to become the new Balmung of Aether when Balmung was removed. *sigh*