FFXIV housing lottery explained

Home is where the luck is

Square Enix/GLHF

The FFXIV housing lottery looks complex if you’re new to Square Enix’s MMO game, but the way it works is comparatively straightforward – assuming you meet the requirements to own a house. The downside is that, since it’s a lottery, whether you end up with a home is completely random. Still, Square Enix offers several chances each week while the lottery is active, so you can always try again or buy a company home with your Free Company, if you’re part of one.

Our FFXIV housing lottery guide breaks down how the housing system works and what you need to do to stake your claim.

If you’re looking to bid soon,  head over to our housing lottery schedule to see when the next entry period starts, and dress up for the occasion with some FFXIV facewear.

How the FFXIV housing lottery works

Assuming you’ve met the requirements, the next step is finding an available plot. The ferryman or other NPC who takes you to each residential area presents you with a list of that area’s housing wards when you speak to them. You can scroll through each and see which ones are up for grabs and then teleport to the ward where the plot you fancy lies waiting. Distinguishing available plots from taken ones is straightforward, since the available plots have cost in gil and no names next to them.

A placard sits in front of each plot. Interact with it to see how much it costs and how many other people are bidding for it, and you can place your bid if you want to. Ideally, you’ll want to bid on a plot with fewer people vying for it, so you’re chances of winning go up.

Newer worlds usually have more available plots and less competition / Square Enix/GLHF

Worlds with higher populations usually have fewer lots and more competition, so if you’re really desperate for a house, you may want to consider transferring to a newer data center to try your luck. As of the time of publication, Dynamis has roughly half a dozen empty wards, though the prices range from several hundred thousand gil to 3 million or more. 

FFXIV’s housing lottery takes the full bid cost up front as a deposit, though you’ll get it back if you don’t win the house. You’ll receive a notification if you do win, and you have a set number of days to claim your house before it’s put back in the lottery. With house metaphorically in hand, you’re free to start buying or crafting decorations and styling it however you wish.

If you lose, you can just put a new bid in when the next entry period starts. Check out our housing lottery schedule to see when the next one is. 

Square Enix no longer handles housing via any means other than the housing lottery, so this is the only way you'll get a house in FFXIV.

FFXIV housing wards

A place to call home - if you can afford it / Square Enix/GLHF

FFXIV has five housing wards as of Dawntrail (patch 7.0), and so far, there’s no word on when we might get a new ward – either in Tural or somewhere back in Eorzea. So, your choices are:

• The Lavender Beds (The Central Shroud, Mirror Planks Dock)
• The Mist (Lower La Noscea, Red Rooster Stead)
• The Goblet (Western Thanalan, the Eighty Sins of Sasamo)
• Shirogane (Hingashi, accessed via the Kugane Aethernet)
• Empyreum (Ishgard, available after completing Ascending to Ishgard)

Each residential district has 30 wards, with some designated for private buyers and some for free companies. The designations differ depending on which data center or world you’re on.

As of patch 7.0, Sagittarius, Dynamis, Alpha, Raiden, and Phantom are divided like this:

• Wards 1-6: Free Companies only
• Wards 21-25 and 30: Individual buyers only

The rest of the wards are up for grabs.

Every other data center and world divides them like this:

• Wards 1-6 and 25: Free Companies only
• Wards 21-24 and 30: Individual buyers only

All the other wards are free game for any kind of buyer.

For more Dawntrail help, check out our guides for how to unlock the Pictomancer class and Viper class if you're keen for a fresh take on combat.