Though the slow rate of household formation among millenials--those born after 1980--has been cause for alarm among some economists, analysts at Moody's Investors Service say reports of a lost generation of homebuyers are overblown. The Census Bureau released its homeownership rate report for the third quarter in early November, revealing homeownership in the 35 and younger age group is growing at a sluggish pace, with 31.6 percent still living with their parents.

Pacific Union's CEO, Mark A. McLaughlin, was named as the recipient of the 2013 RISMedia Real Estate Leadership Award, a national award recognizing members of the real estate community who embrace innovation and blaze new trails. McLaughlin has served as a leader in the real estate industry for more than 20 years, holding key management roles with Jones Lang LaSalle and Colliers International earlier in his career.

The University of Michigan's preliminary Index of Consumer Sentiment report shows a drop in confidence for November--and Capital Economics' Amna Asaf is at a loss to explain why. The index fell from 73.2 to a two-year low of 72.0 in the first November report. With the economy in a relatively healthier position compared to last month, Asaf--an economist for the macroeconomics research firm--says the decline is something of a surprise.

When it comes to next year's regulatory obstacles, CEOs and senior executives from the mortgage industry's biggest players agree on one thing: Education will be key to keeping business going smoothly. In a panel at the 2013 Realtors Conference and Expo, high-level names from Quicken Loans, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America discussed the qualified mortgage (QM) guidelines, which go into effect in January 2014.

Safeguard Properties LLC filed on Tuesday a motion to dismiss a complaint brought against the company by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who has charged Safeguard with illegally evicting homeowners before their foreclosures were finalized.

In Florida, Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (FNF), a provider of title insurance and mortgage and diversified services, announced that company president Raymond R. Quirk will be taking over as CEO effective December 7. Quirk will replace George P. P. Scanlon, who is transitioning out of that role.

Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to see strong profits as the housing market improves. With the release of their third-quarter results the GSEs announced they will be making substantial payments to the U.S. Treasury in December--$8.6 billion from Fannie Mae and $30.4 billion from Freddie Mac. Together, the two companies will have paid back about $185 billion to taxpayers as of December, nearly equaling the $188 billion in bailout money provided to the two mortgage financiers.

After three weeks of declining, borrowing costs reversed trend this week as mortgage interest rates headed higher on strengthening economic data in the wake of the government shutdown. Freddie Mac's weekly survey puts the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 4.16 percent for the week ending November 7. Bankrate reported similar findings but with its averages a bit higher as the 30-year fixed rate settled in at 4.35 percent.

Bill Griffin, EVP at Lender Processing Services (LPS), has been elected to serve on the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) board of directors, the company announced. Griffin joins a number of new board members who will work together with the existing members to set MBA's strategic direction and oversee management of its initiatives.

Freddie Mac has priced a $630 million offering of Structured Agency Credit Risk (STACR) debt notes, marking the second STACR offering in which private sources--not taxpayers--take on the credit risk. According to a statement from the GSE, about 50 broadly-diversified investors participated in the offering for the debt notes, which are scheduled to settle November 12.