In Malibu, the open house guide comes with symbols: A knife and fork represent agent open houses that are serving food. A wine glass means the open house comes stocked only with beverages.

California’s state legislature is on the verge of passing the country’s first law that targets housing sprawl in an effort to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.

Few parts of the country have escaped the housing slump. Even in the usually steady Midwest, where I live, housing prices have been either stagnant or dropping. But few places have been hit as hard as California.

It had to happen eventually: U.S. residents can no longer fit their cars into their garages.