My utopian housing in a game, be it an MMORPG or single-player RPG, is for me to have control over some aspects of owning a house. Decoration is one thing, although it might not appeal to everyone. But what about the ability for me to hire people to take care of it while I'm away? Why couldn't I hire farmers to take care of the land and harvest the crops? Why not hire guards to keep everything safe? I could choose to be a mean master, and keep everything for myself, leaving scraps to the underpaid employees, perhaps eventually losing some of them as they die or leave. Or I could choose to be a benevolent master and share everything with them. It all adds to the role-playing experience.