One of the most recurring complaints about Final Fantasy XIV is that it has no auction house. Square Enix decided to stick with the Market Wards system, that has been similar to an auction house since the inclusion of a seach system, but lacked the ability to purchase items from a centralized location.

Starting with patch 1.20 (that will be released on December the 14th) the game will finally have it's Auction House, or better, the Market Wards will be converted into a fully functioning Auction House, giving the ability to purchase items directly from the search window instead of having to go and retrieve them from a retainer in the Market Wards themselves. 

Further improvements will be added between patch 1.20 and 1.21, including the ability to search items by name and display item statistics directly in the search display.

It still won't be called "Auction House" (thing that will very possibly cause some grumbling between those that have been vouching for the system), but it will factually work exactly like one, with more features on top of it.

In addition to that Square Enix announced a new and very welcome character search feature and a fully revamped Dyeing system for 1.20. Looks like I'll finally be able to repaint that horrible red plate into a socially acceptable color.