Simple suggestion;

Add some Houses which are purely display models and cannot be owned by players, but unlike real display models, we can interact with them. Take some furniture in, see what it looks like, etc. We keep the furniture, we can put it down, move it around, and still trade it afterwards.

This would allow people to play around a bit with Houses before being able to afford them (this seemed to be a major complaint), and also give the furniture market a bit more utility now, rather than several months down the line when people might need the stuff.