REAL ESTATE

L.A. County Home Prices Rise: The median price of a home sold in Los Angeles in February rose 0.6% from the same month last year--the first year-to-year increase reported in four years. Dataquick Information Systems, a La Jolla-based information services firm, said the median price was $163,500. February sales also increased a strong 18.8% compared with the same period last year, when sales activity was depressed by stormy weather and a jump in mortgage rates. Southern California home prices could remain volatile but are expected to eventually rise slowly or remain flat in the coming months, Dataquick analyst John Karevoll said.