When it comes to housing in Seattle, the big issue is price. Over and over we hear that the price of an apartment, what we usually refer to as rent, is increasing year over year. The rise in rents have varied over time, and as I have pointed out, rents change over time. I’ve also pointed out (as many have) that housing price is a function of land costs, construction and materials, financing, and operations. The other aspect of this is demand and supply, typically called inventory in the real estate world. The video I’ve embedded above does a great job of explaining not only where prices come from but also why increased production and innovation has a beneficial impact on price. Watching this video is satisfying if you already get price, and hopefully it’s the kind of thing that can shift people’s point of view so that they are supportive of more housing rather than disastrous price controls.