Emory Team, Associates at Pacific Sunset Mortgage

Emory Team, Associates at Pacific Sunset Mortgage Since 1989 we have been dedicated to homeownership regarding Purchases, Refinances and Reverse Mortgages. Chair Ethics '99-'03 OAMP. We have two sons.

About Steve
After I leave the office for the day, I am a husband of over 40 years to the same lady. We live out in Vernonia with our five dogs (Great Dane to a 4lb Pom), four horses and cats. I run with the dogs each morning for about 45 minutes, rain, snow or sunshine. Our oldest lives and works in Beaverton and our youngest lives and works in Austin, TX. My wife & I are both very proud of both o

f our sons. They are growing in to good decent young men with career goals. It seems I spend a lot of time at Home Depot with minor repairs or remodeling something. We like to camp and go for trail rides on our horses. Oregon has many nice spots to camp & ride within a few hour drive of Portland Metro. We go to the coast quite a bit but also go in to the Cascades and Willamette Valley. I don’t watch much regular TV except news but I do enjoy movies at home. I can re-watch some of the old classics every month but I enjoy a wide variety of movies. We go out to dinner occasionally with friends and go for a day drive to the coast at least once a month, year round. It is never boring and is actually quite satisfying to help people get home loans. Some loans are easy to get approved but others are quite difficult. There have been a lot that were turned down by other lenders that I was able to get through. When you tell someone they can get the loan they need, whether to buy their dream or to help a financial situation or crisis, they are appreciative. Helping a "First Time Buyer" understand the process and get their first home is very rewarding, too.

Financial markets have been very volatile since the Iran war. Rates have moved up on negatives news, and down on positiv...
05/29/2026

Financial markets have been very volatile since the Iran war. Rates have moved up on negatives news, and down on positive news. With three of the four rates tracked in the chart below rising rapidly the last few months, it shows how much the Iran war has impacted markets. The volatility won't end until a final resolution happens with Iran.

CPI (inflation) for March and April both rose rapidly due to the oil price shocks. Market experts are predicting no further Fed Fund Rate cuts this year, though it will really depend on data on inflation (Is the oil shock temporary), and the economy strength or lack thereof.

CPI (inflation) for April came out at 3.8%, another significant bump two months in a row. CPI is now higher than the Fed...
05/14/2026

CPI (inflation) for April came out at 3.8%, another significant bump two months in a row. CPI is now higher than the Fed Funds Rate. This is putting the breaks on predictions of a Fed Funds Rate cut later this year and has started predictions of a rise. Data will drive the Fed and everyone is hoping this rise is temporary from impacts of the Iran war. Of course the last time in 2021 when the CPI rose, experts thought it was 'temporary' due to COVID, which turned out not to be the case. It was run of the mill inflation and the Fed waited far too long to respond to it.

Mortgages went up after the Iran attack but have calmed a little since. We are still up a chunk since the attack. CPI fo...
04/30/2026

Mortgages went up after the Iran attack but have calmed a little since. We are still up a chunk since the attack. CPI for March rose at the fastest level in four years due to the oil price shocks. Markets are still reacting to news from Iran.

The Fed held the Funds Rate steady yesterday and markets are not expecting much if any moves from the Fed for 2026. Though we do get a new Fed Chair in May. Kevin Warsh is slated to take over from Jerome Powell who has served since 2018. The new Fed Chair is predicted to govern differently than Powell. We shall have to wait and see.

The Spring buying season is here. We'll need to see April's numbers to understand how the Iran war is impacting numbers. While the war started Feb. 28th, March sales were not impacted much from it as March closings are from February accepted contracts typically. April's numbers will reflect March contracts, all written with the higher rates and war going on. Year to date through March we are still at historical low numbers of sales nationally.

CPI numbers (inflation) for March came out up the sharpest monthly rise in four years to 3.30%. As predicted, and again ...
04/17/2026

CPI numbers (inflation) for March came out up the sharpest monthly rise in four years to 3.30%. As predicted, and again due to Iran pressures on oil prices. Treasuries and mortgage rates have calmed somewhat with recent news. If oil prices come down with positive news, and the CPI bump is temporary, it shouldn't have much impact on The Fed. Talk of any Fed Funds Rate cuts is off the table for a while though.

Mortgages are back up to levels from six months ago after dropping before the Iran attack. The markets are reacting to f...
03/26/2026

Mortgages are back up to levels from six months ago after dropping before the Iran attack. The markets are reacting to future fears of inflation, not reported inflation from the last few months. This is normal practice with major events like the Iran war. As negative news comes out, it's not just the price of Gas/Diesel, but rate markets respond accordingly. Mortgages and Treasuries have gone up a chunk the last few days. The Fed stayed even at their meeting last week, as did CPI for February. Most market experts are predicting no Federal Fund Rate cuts for 2026, and some are even predicting Fund Rate increases. This may all be moot as temporary though. It really depends on how Iran goes.

Iran is still creating uncertainty which markets don't like. Fears of possible inflation coming from it. We all see an e...
03/12/2026

Iran is still creating uncertainty which markets don't like. Fears of possible inflation coming from it. We all see an example of this with current gas prices at the pump. February's CPI (inflation) came out this week at 2.4%. The markets react to predictions for the future, rather than actual numbers coming out now for previous months. Hence mortgages and Treasuries are climbing the last few weeks. Hopefully the attack, and inflation fears with it, both are short lived.

The news media is overhyping the FeddieMac index rate drop that came out today. While we did dip below 'six' (5.98) for ...
02/26/2026

The news media is overhyping the FeddieMac index rate drop that came out today. While we did dip below 'six' (5.98) for the first time in 3.5 years, it is only a 0.03% drop since last week (6.01), and we've only dropped about 0.25% over the last six months. These are not earth shattering drops. The real news is, rates are stable for many months. It is the right direction though, and may jump start more buyers with the media perception.

We held at a lower level than the last five months, for a second week. About 1 percent less than one year ago. CPI (Infl...
02/19/2026

We held at a lower level than the last five months, for a second week. About 1 percent less than one year ago. CPI (Inflation) numbers for January came out last week 'down', and lower than expected. Only 0.4% higher than the Fed target. Treasuries have dropped somewhat recently. We could see further small drops in mortgages if these trends continue. There is going to be some turmoil at the Fed with the current chair Powell leaving in May, and Trump nominating Warsh to replace him. There will be contentious Senate hearings, and market moves with all this. While many want to say that Warsh will be 'politically motivated', they should remember that Trump nominated Powell in 2017, and that didn't turn out like Trump expected.

Mortgage rates dipped to levels we haven't seen since Sept. 2022 last Friday. Why now, you ask?The simple answer is Trum...
01/15/2026

Mortgage rates dipped to levels we haven't seen since Sept. 2022 last Friday. Why now, you ask?

The simple answer is Trump pushed some buttons to get the MBS market lower on Friday. He asked FNMA/FreddieMac to purchase MBS with the $200 Billion they have. As they only can buy MBS, and not Treasuries like other market players, the MBS market dropped on the news while the Treasuries stayed stable. Mortgage Rates and 10 Year Treasury track. There as been a 2.25%-2.5% spread lately between the 10 Year Treasury and mortgage rates. With this action by Trump, the spread dropped to about 1.85%, which lowered the mortgage rate.

Up until this announcement, mortgage rates had stayed VERY stable for four months. How long this MBS purchasing by FNMA/FreddieMac may last is the unknown at this point. For now, it helps. The Federal Reserve bought MBS after the 2008 financial crisis, again in April 2020 to stabilize and lower mortgage rates with COVID, as well as other times in recent history.

This move is about effecting affordability by getting rates lower. Three factors go in to affordability. Mortgage Rates, House Prices, and Median Income Levels. A mortgage rate drop helps. House prices have dropped which helps. Income levels have been increasing which helps. It all helps as time goes by.

2026 Conforming Loan Limit for 1 unit now $832,750
01/08/2026

2026 Conforming Loan Limit for 1 unit now $832,750

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Beaverton, OR
97006

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