being bounded on multiple sides by water/geographical restrictions is not really unique to seattle, however. Vancouver BC is bounded by the fraser river, burrard inlet and the ocean on 3 sides. The problem in Vancouver is not so much geography and lack of space, but the combination of massive foreign investment distorting the market and the fact that 90%+ of the city's residential land area is still zoned for single family houses. The 15% foreign resident home buyers' tax in BC has recently resulted in a lot of the mainland Chinese capital coming to buy homes in the Seattle area instead.