Many potential buyers have been undeterred by rising home prices throughout Southern California, despite high unemployment and cutthroat competition for houses entering the market, say realtors. Others, however, say they’ve been priced out of the state and have decided to leave—especially young, potential first-time buyers. Some experts are calling for a hike in mortgage interest rates to calm the market. In Orange County, record-low interest rates for mortgages have encouraged the demand for housing, and with limited inventory, home prices have risen. In 2020, Southern California saw a 13 percent rise in the median sold prices of single-family homes, according to the California Association of Realtors. Tracey Kirk-Johnson, a realtor in Orange County, told The Epoch Times that California’s housing market is “looking up.” “Pretty much each home that is selling, as long as it’s been listed at fair market value, … is selling for the new high of the …