The purchase of 217-unit building marks Pacific Urban's third multifamily purchase in the Northeast since the firm established a regional office in New York late last year.

The new law has several tools built in to help land trusts bring and keep affordable housing in California.

At Urban Land Institute's recent Emerging Trends event covering the Bay Area, local real estate experts added color to the annual study's findings including office values, housing shortage and combative retail.

Everyone is talking about it and many are predicting it, but there is little consensus about the cause.