How to Buy a House in FFXIV? A Comprehensive Housing Guide!

FFXIV – How to Buy a House?

Housing has been a large part of many MMORPGs for decades now. Some people might think that this feature was introduced in the newer titles of that genre, but it's an entirely false belief. Player housing has been present even in the XX century MMOs like Ultima Online. Over the years, we have seen multiple approaches to this aspect of gameplay in many releases. In some examples, the living quarters are a purely cosmetic gold sink that provides players with something to do in the endgame. In others, there are tangible benefits of owning a home. Final Fantasy XIV is a little bit of both.

There are two methods of buying a house in FFXIV. First of all, a character can buy a personal plot to raise a house or get together with members of their Free Company and use it as headquarters. However, the private living quarters are limited to a single house per account, so you can only have it on your main. It's not as bad as it sounds, though – the FFXIV job system doesn't encourage creating multiple characters since you can level every class on your main. The Free Company houses also have specific requirements and restrictions.

Mechanics of FF14 Housing

FFXIV construction plots and houses come in three sizes: small, medium, and large. They enable the players to build respectively: a cottage, a house, and a mansion. The type of your house is entirely dependent on the plot size. Even if, for some reason, you wanted to build a smaller home on a larger piece of land, it's impossible. In general, getting any plot that's bigger than small is extremely difficult. Getting any land at all might be quite a challenge if you're playing on one of the more populated servers. Luckily, there also are some more feasible options. A player can always buy an apartment in one apartment or get a private chamber (personal room) in the Free Company house. Technically, you can own two houses – a personal one and an FC one.

As you probably know, Free Companies are the FFXIV equivalent of guilds or clans in other MMORPGs. Free Company estates serve as guild halls. That being said, besides the communal part available to all members, everyone can also spend some Gil and get themselves a private chamber that they can furnish and decorate. Moreover, Free Company houses also have Company Workshops and Chocobo Stables. Personal houses don't have such features, but you can share your home with up to 3 friends through the tenant system. There are housing districts in four cities inside Eorzea – you can make your home in The Mist in Limsa Lominsa, Lavender Beds in Gridania, The Goblet in Ul' dah, and Shirogane in Kugane. These districts are further divided into wards and then into plots.

Finally, having a house provides access to a unique activity – gardening. It's somewhat connected to two gathering classes – Botanist and Miner. Botanists can collect seeds that can later be planted, and Miners can gather special types of soil that are necessary to cultivate certain plants. Even though there are items that can only be acquired through Gardening, it is not a separate profession. You can't level up as a gardener, and you're not getting any skills associated with it. Last but not least, players can fertilize the soil, tend to their plants, and eventually harvest their crops.

The Process of Getting a House

As we already mentioned, you need land to build a house. The limited number of construction plots alongside a high number of players who want to buy a house (at least on most servers) makes this step the hardest one. Plots can only be bought directly from the game. In order to purchase a piece of land, you might always have to check if there are any available. If you try looking for parcels that are posted for sale, you'll quickly notice that small plots are the vast majority of what you can get. If you want anything else, you'll need to be really patient and set yourself up for a long wait.

Depending on the plot's size and class, the price may vary from 3,000,000 Gil even to 50,000,000. As you can see, luck is not the only thing that you're going to need. You will of course get some Gil as you play the game, but just going through the Main Story may not be enough to cover this cost. Moreover, your character has to be level 50 on at least one class. They also need the Second Lieutenant rank in their Grand Company. As you may know, Grand Companies are the three NPC factions within the game – The Maelstrom, The Immortal Flames, and The Order of Twin Adder. After buying a parcel, you have 45 days to build a house. If you don't, the land returns to the game and becomes available to other players.  

In the beginning, players were able to own multiple plots and freely trade them. It resulted in a small group of people taking control of all the land and raising the prices for all the other players. Because of that, Square Enix introduced the limitation to a single parcel per account and made them untradeable. However, it was still possible to synchronize, releasing a plot with another player buying it instantly. It wasn't 100% safe, but very much possible. That's why the devs introduced a hidden random timer, after which the plot becomes available.

It made trading land basically impossible (or at least extremely risky and inconvenient). It's important to note that this timer doesn't apply to players who want to relocate a house that they already own. You will have to pay a fair amount of Gil for that, but you'll be able to move to your favorite district. That's why trying to get any plot at all might be a good idea. If you have a supply of Gil, you might be able to go with the relocation later. 

After you get your land, you have to buy a Construction Permit. Its price varies depending on the size of your house, but generally, it's significantly cheaper than the land itself. Furthermore, there's no need to wait for a vacancy that makes this part of the process much easier. After that, you can customize and decorate both the interior and the exterior of your house. You can place and move furniture, adjust the construction of your house, choose floors, wallpapers, lighting, and much more. Of course, this part of the game will only appeal to a very specific group of players. It's important to note that housing is not at all a mandatory part of the game. In general, a Free Company should have its quarters, but you're not going to need a private house in order to succeed at any point in the game.

There are much fewer restrictions surrounding the apartments – they're also much easier to get. Basically, every player willing to spend 500,000 Gil should be able to find an available apartment. There's a limit to one apartment per character (instead of account as it's in the case of plots), and they can't be shared or traded between players. Moreover, the apartment will stay assigned to your character even if you become inactive. Besides, each apartment building features a shared chocobo stable that's available to all tenants.

That being said, most players who are interested in housing will eventually want to get a patch of land and build their own homes. It simply provides more options in terms of furnishing and customization. It's important to note that you don't have to choose between a house and an apartment – you can have them both! As long as you're willing to spend the Gil required to buy, decorate and take care of them. 

Vacating a Plot

As we already established, the number of plots available on each Final Fantasy XIV server is limited. Because of that, the real estate that's being hoarded by inactive accounts eventually comes back to the system. If you don't visit your house for 45 days, your house will be demolished due to inactivity (even if you're still playing the game and doing other stuff). When that happens, the owner receives 80% of the land value in Gil, and the plot becomes available for purchase by other players. You can also demolish your house manually – it happens instantly, but you won't receive the compensation.

After 30 days of this inactivity, you're going to receive a warning that your estate is due to auto-demolition. All that's required to stop that process is to enter the house. In the case of private homes, the owner has to be the one to do it. As far as Free Company houses go, any member can halt the demolition by showing up in the building. After the house is torn down, the owner can reclaim their compensation from the NPC Resident Caretaker for a limited amount of time. Besides the aforementioned 80% plot value in Gil, you will also be able to keep some furniture that you could later reuse or sell.

This system makes sure that the same number of plots is available to the players at all times. If a player is entirely inactive (or doesn't visit their living quarters), the parcel doesn't become lost forever. Instead, it returns to the market where other players - new members of the real estate market - can snatch it.

Buying Houses in FFXIV

That's going to be it for our Final Fantasy housing guide. As you can see, this entire system in FFXIV is pretty developed. The fact that land is a limited resource plays a humongous role in this market. It's the main mechanic to play around. Besides just Gil, you might need a fair amount of patience and luck to snipe a desired piece of land.

Some players may ask if it's worth it. Well, in terms of tangible benefits that you can get within the game – definitely not. However, FFXIV housing is not about getting returns from your investment. It's a luxury type of content that' somewhat aimed at people who don't know what to do with their Gil anymore. It provides the players with another tool for personalization and expression of their character in the endgame. If you're interested in guides for FFXIV and other big online games, make sure to take a good look around our website! I wish you know everything about FFXIV how to buy a house.

FAQ

Are FFXIV houses expensive?

You're going to need a few million Gil to buy a FFXIV house. That being said, finding a patch of land viable for construction is a much more expensive and challenging part than actually raising your house. Besides, you can always visit the Gil page on our website and refill your stock!

Where can I buy a house in Final Fantasy XIV?

There are four living districts in FFXIV – The Mist in Limsa Lominsa, Shirogane in Kugane, The Goblet in Ul' dah, and Lavender Beds in Gridania.

Can I have multiple houses in FFXIV?

There's a restriction that only allows for a single personal house per account. That being said, you can also have access to your Free Company estate. Additionally, you can also own a private apartment within the game.

Can I buy another player's house in FFXIV?

Unfortunately, you can't. Trading houses is not possible in Final Fantasy XIV. There used to be a possibility of buying and selling plots of land, but it got removed because players hoarded multiple parcels and artificially increased their prices for anyone who wanted a house.      

How long is the housing timer in FFXIV?

The exact length of the housing timer is random. Moreover, it's hidden from all the players. It usually takes about 5-10 hours for a plot to become available, but it might be significantly longer or shorter. If it was visible, players could be using it to attempt trading plots. Right now, it's really easy to fail such trade, due to being an hour too late or too early.

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