The headline in the Seattle Times tells the story of housing prices:”Seattle Rents Growing at Among Slowest Rates in Country as Apartment Boom Reaches Record.

And are prices growing slowly?

About 1 in 10 apartments across the city remain empty, and perks like a free month’s rent have become standard at most new buildings, and even some older ones.

And

At the same time, about 1 in 10 apartments across the city remain empty, and perks like a free month’s rent have become standard at most new buildings, and even some older ones.

It is so simple even the Seattle Times gets it, even acknowledging what Mike Scott called the “skew of the new” as why prices have gone up at all. New apartments — like a new sweater or car — are more expensive than older buildings.

But some in the city and the country are obsessing about eviction as a “crisis” when the answer to getting lower prices is right in front of them: more supply.