The difference is that demand can be met in Seattle because they have lots of neighborhoods in which mom and pop builders can do small scale wood-framed apartment buildings to meet continuing demand for people actually moving into the city to work. In Vancouver, the zero growth policy across most of the city funnels all growth into expensive-to-build arterial corridors and high rise areas.
So, the foreigners who are buying up single family homes and even condos in either city are one thing. But the normal people in Seattle who want to make a life out of college are actually seeing rents come down in that city, whereas the land use/building restrictions in Vancouver continually push the cost of housing up for people entering the market.
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