Eorzea’s housing crisis has caused an uptick in homeless rates by 1.3% according to the Grand Companies annual report. Across Eorzea in the past year, potential homeowners have been facing ever-growing housing rates with the first-time homebuyers in the market, due to rapid inflation and increased demand in housing.
The Grand Companies annual report covers inflation percentages, income limits, homelessness population and housing development gaps in public and private spending.
Currently only 14,400 houses are available spanning five districts: Ul’Dah, Gridania, Limsa Lominsa, Kugane and most recently Empyreum since the Holy See’s completion of the Firmament. However, according to the recent Eorzean Census 300,000 citizens live in the Balmung district of the city states, which means just 4% of the population currently has access to housing.
In the past three cycles, there has been an explosion in population density, due to migrants from former Imperial provinces and the resolution to the end of days leading to globalization in the city states.
(Embed to interactive population chart – NOT IC)
Find more statistics at Statista
But there is hope – all five city states have expanded in the past, laying new district foundations for homes to be added to the market pool. Sultana Nanamo Ul Namo spoke alongside Syndicate monetarist Lord Lolorito Nanarito at Ul’Dah’s seventh Ala Mhigan business summit earlier this year about plans to curb the housing crisis.
“The true wealth of Ul’dah lies in the health, happiness, and hopes of her people.” Ul Namo said. “Her people have rights to assemble and continue to build and bolster the economic boon that Ul’dah has become.”
Those without housing have access to apartments while waiting for houses to hit the market and potentially become a landowner. For one of the limited houses to enter the market, it first must be considered abandoned. Buyers must meet regulation standards and place a bid for the square fulmage, waiting long periods to even find out if their bid has won. During the period the bidder’s bank account is frozen without compensation, even if their bid loses.
If a potential homeowners bid loses, the second method to buying a house is a profitable practice known as house-flipping, where flippers place multiple bids to buy a house before relisting it on third-party notice boards for sometimes several times the market price. The Crystal Chronicle reports that during the last season, medium-sized houses were being sold on the market for as high as $350 million gil.
While owning a house is in itself a struggle, due to high-competition and lottery systems, there is another hurdle homeowners must leap every month; as a form of homeowners tax. The abandonment clause signed when closing property deals details homeowners must pay regular visits to their house.
According to one seeker in his mid twenties, owning a home was a life-earned achievement but the rules and regulations were vague.
“I was one day late because I had set a timer to visit but I was on-call at work in the city,” aetherbiologist M’arkis Quinn said. “I’m heartbroken because I had built my cabin in the woods after moving from the Goblet to focus on my research on animal aetherology. My research will be so much harder and I have so much furniture that can’t fit in an apartment.”
According to Quinn, he did not receive moogle mail the day preceding the demolition of his house. His view is shared by others who believe the regulations need amendment.
“My house was, in my opinion, stolen from me thanks to the homeowner abandonment clause.” Skysteel artificer Okhi’to Dhava said. “You ask me if I think I should lose my home because business keeps me from being there? Absolutely not.”
With Heavensturning, it’s a general election year for voters living in both Thanalan and Vylbrand. Proposition 3 in Thanalan local elections aims to raise revenues for housing affordability programs, strengthen tenant protections and address homelessness in local communities.
