MHL Mortgageit Hldgs

MortgageIT Holdings, Inc. Declares Initial Common Stock Dividend of $0.44 per Share -- Initial Dividend Covering 3rd and 4th Quarters at Top of Company's Guidance; NEW YORK, Dec. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MortgageIT Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:MHL), a residential mortgage company organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT), today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.44 per common share for the period from its IPO on August 4, 2004, to year-end. The dividend is payable on January 14, 2005, to shareholders of record as of December 31, 2004. The ex-dividend date is December 29, 2004; therefore, new shareholders interested in receiving the fourth quarter dividend must purchase common stock on or before December 28, 2004. The initial dividend represents the distribution of more than 90% of the estimated taxable earnings for the period from the Company's reorganization and initial public offering on August 4, 2004 through year-end, exclusive of any net income earned by its taxable REIT subsidiary, MortgageIT, Inc., during the period, and therefore is not expected to be a return of capital. "Our initial dividend covering the period from our IPO to year-end is at the top of our original expectation, and is the result of the continued success of our mortgage banking subsidiary as well as the solid margins on the loans selected for our REIT portfolio," said Doug Naidus, MortgageIT Holdings' Chairman and CEO. "It does not, however, reflect the full earnings power of our investment portfolio, or our full run-rate dividend, because we are continuing to ramp our portfolio through year-end." The Company expects to declare its first full regular quarterly dividend in the first quarter of 2005. About MortgageIT Holdings, Inc. MortgageIT Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:MHL) was formed to act as the holding company of MortgageIT, Inc. (MortgageIT), its wholly owned residential mortgage lending subsidiary. MortgageIT is a full-service residential mortgage banking company that is licensed to originate loans throughout the United States. MortgageIT originates single-family residential mortgage loans of all types, with particular focus on prime adjustable-rate (ARM) and fixed- rate, first-lien residential mortgage loans. MortgageIT Holdings is organized and conducts its operations to qualify as a real estate investment trust (REIT) for federal income tax purposes. MortgageIT is organized and operates as MortgageIT Holdings' taxable REIT subsidiary. Certain items in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to our ability to fund a fully- leveraged, self-originated loan portfolio, our anticipated loan funding volume and our ability to pay dividends. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. MortgageIT Holdings can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from MortgageIT Holdings' expectations include, but are not limited to, MortgageIT's continued ability to originate new loans, including loans that we deem suitable for our securitization portfolio; changes in the capital markets, including changes in interest rates and/or credit spreads; and other risks detailed in MortgageIT Holdings' Registration Statement on Form S-11 that was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on July 29, 2004 and from time to time in MortgageIT Holdings' SEC Reports. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. MortgageIT Holdings expressly disclaims any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based. DATASOURCE: MortgageIT Holdings, Inc. CONTACT: Investors, Sean McGrath, MortgageIT Holdings, Inc., +1-646-346-8700; Media, Joe LoBello, Brainerd Communicators, Inc., +1-212-986-6667 Web site: http://www.mortgageitholdings.com/

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