What I've never understood is why SE did not allow choice of apartment size from the start (I can understand the "we can't design it for upgrading what's already owned").

House interiors are already instanced so it shouldn't have been difficult. Copy those, flip the door to the back wall without the built in windows. When the player goes to buy an apartment, the Building Manager asks "what size", player picks size. If it means grouping apartments of the same size into different wings, that shouldn't be a problem. Studio (the current apartments) could be in the wings for rooms 1-90, small in rooms 101-190, medium in 201-290, large in 301-390.

Would players give up having a yard if it meant they never needed to worry about demolition? Many players would.

That's still not taking away the wards but it frees up houses for those who want a yard and are willing to risk demolition, who would actively garden and FCs.