Not a single 13th or 14th-century Saaremaa islanders’ settlement site has been archaeologically excavated. Saaremaa islanders presumably lived in houses built of horizontal logs resembling houses from that period in Gotland, which have been excavated. Dwelling places were separate from the grain threshing rooms. In the 17th century, the dwellings of an average farmstead were about 30 to 70 m² and consisted of a living room, a front room, and sometimes also an additional small room.
In addition to the grain threshing houses, farms also had other auxiliary buildings. The law of the Ösel-Wiek Bishopric mentions barns and a fenced-in yard. Farms also surely had granaries. Harming members of the farm family in their own house or yard was considered a more serious crime than violence committed elsewhere.
Members of the island’s elite lived in manors. Some of them were located separately, often at the sites of later manorial estates and amid more fertile fields, others were located in villages. The manorial estate was an agrarian enterprise that was larger than others.
Several hillforts in Saaremaa were in use throughout the 13th century. Some of the people who maintained the hillforts evidently also lived in them permanently.
Ühtegi 13.–14. sajandi saarlase eluaset ei ole arheoloogiliselt kaevatud. Ilmselt elasid saarlased umbes samasugustes rõhtpalkidest hoonetes, nagu neid tollest perioodist on kaevatud näiteks Ojamaal. Eluhooned olid rehetoast ja rehealusest eraldi. 17. sajandil olid keskmise talu eluhooned umbes 30–70 m² ning koosnesid elutoast, eestoast ja vahel ka kambrist.
Peale rehetoa ja rehealuse kuulus tallu muidki abihooneid. Saare–Lääne õigus mainib lautu ning hoovi, mis oli ümbritsetud taraga. Lisaks olid kindlasti olemas ka aidad. Pererahva kahjustamist nende enda majas või hoovis peeti raskemaks kuriteoks kui vägivalda väljaspool neid.
Saare ülikud elasid mõisates, mis osalt paiknesid eraldi, hilisemate mõisate kohal ja viljakamate põldude keskel, osalt aga külades sees. Mõis oli teistest suurem agraarmajapidamine.
Mitmed Saaremaa linnused olid kasutusel läbi kogu 13. sajandi. Osa inimesi, kes linnuse eest hoolitsesid, elas ilmselt ka seal.