The devs are actually doing a great job

[Beckett]

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Originally housing was only for Free Companies. The devs said they were going to add individual player housing as a completely separate system from FC housing. Then they went back on that and just allowed individual players to buy the same plots as FCs. The ward system was designed to provide housing for all the Free Companies on a server, not for every individual. The decision to combine the two is why many servers don't have enough plots for everyone that wants one, let alone the ability for each player to get their "perfect" plot.

The discussion of whether FCs or individuals are more deserving of houses shouldn't even exist, but it is unfortunately far too late to go back and change things so that FC housing and individual housing are separate. I'm sure if the devs could go back in time, they would have done things much differently.

This is why I'm in favor of introducing instanced housing as an addition to wards, not to replace them. There are a lot of players who feel the same way you do, and they'd have the option to stay in the wards. There are also players who would prefer the instanced system, and they would move out, leaving space in the wards. If the wards were full, the option is still there to get an instanced house regardless, so no one has to be homeless (and everyone can make use of cute event rewards) and they can wait for plots to open up in the wards if that's what they'd prefer.

There's heavy speculation that restoring Ishgard is going to lead to exactly this. I agree with HadesNight that the ward system is better (for those that can get houses) at giving a sense of community and fun, but having instanced Ishgard housing as another option could definitely alleviate some of the population issues.