Zoning is terrible. And height restrictions are a serious problem. The Space Needle and the Boeing airport nearby are seriously constraining building in the area. There was a massive downtown apartment tower that was (maybe still is?) going to be built that was running into big problems because it might be too tall for the airport. And in surrounding areas, the locals don't want their views spoiled so forget anything more than 3 or 4 stories. I lived in West Seattle, which had as many apartments as it could handle being built, but none above 3 or 4 stories. Its like people think that holding onto these utopic view of how Seattle should never change is somehow going to solve everything. The only way these issues will be fixed is through compromise and hard work. As it stands, I don't know how Seattle can hit a million people and still work properly.

Rental markets in Bellevue are a bit weak ATM, lots of new supply so they are offering incentives. Still more expensive than a few years ago, but we might be seeing a leak in demand-supply mismatches...on the east side at least.