Commentary Chapman University is predicting a 10-to-15 percent drop in the median price of detached singled family homes in Orange County, Calif., by mid-2023. Faculty from Chapman University’s A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research presented on June 16 the institution’s economic forecasts for the nation, state, and Orange County. It expects rates on new 30-year mortgages to reach 4.7 percent by mid-2023—up 1.7 percentage points from the three percent levels of 2021, said Professor Jim Doti. He also said that if home buyers continue to spend 41 percent of their income on principle and interest payments, the median price for detached single family homes in Orange County would fall from today’s $1.03 million to $880,800, an average drop of more than $150,000. The university’s estimate of a 4.7 percent rate for a new 30-year mortgage in 2023 is in line with the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) predictions. The MBA …