L.A.'s pricey homes still strong

We're talking homes in the $1 million-plus range, which these days is not that big a deal. L.A. area home values in this bracket rose 6.5 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier and were up 3.6 percent from the previous three months, according to First Republic Bank, which keeps track of these numbers. The L.A. prices have been influenced by the entertainment industry and the area's solid economy. As we've been noting for some weeks, there's still a lot of demand in the higher price ranges, though things seem to slow down once you reach $2 million. First Republic says L.A. is the strongest market for high-priced properties.