But ever since I got married the cost of life has skyrocketed.

The cost of college has skyrocketed and the value of a college degree is going down every year.

Then as time went on an prices kept skyrocketing I realized Seattle, and many other trendy metros, were in bubble territory.

AS we are not competing against the average US buyer who can buy a home with 25k in their jeans or a rental.. those are the folks that can cause a run up .. and you know run up is hey I was paying 50k for that 800 rent last year now its 55k  to us on the coast and probably you in your market those kind of moves are meaningless.. but to someone who lives and works there they see it as prices have skyrocketed LOL they went up 10% or 20%... but the dollars are already so small.. 

Rents have skyrocketed in the year this tenant has occupied the home so if you chose to look at this as a positive, that is a solid angle, you are likely to rent it for a decent amount more.  

The property values remained flat until around 2003 and then property values skyrocketed.

They don't really need to sell and can afford to wait it out for that potential FOMO buyer (the same buyer who rushed in before the 2008 crash- concerned that prices would continue to skyrocket).