I think player neighborhoods would make housing work. Your plot shares an instance with the same 50-100 people.
There are no vendors that live in your house; you all use the inn, tavern, and stores on main street, making it where you are always interacting with the same people. A goblin or gnome engineer near the inn can teleport you or shoot you out of a cannon to your front door.
If you unsub or don't log in for 30 days you effectively "moved out" of the neighborhood and your plot is open. It doesnt cost anything to be moved to another neighborhood at random(to fill in plots and keep hoods full as subs fluctuate). You could pay gold to move to a fixed community (say, with your guild).
Now add in consumables for special buffs from BBQ's, house parties, a festival in the village square, and each person can invite 4 other people to their neighborhood, you can actually have a community. It would also make a great gold sink since the whales would buy all sorts of expensive decorations to make their house look the best.