American Home Mortgage Reports Fourth Quarter Results; Achieves Record EPS, Revenues and Loan Production for the Quarter and Year

Business Wire, Jan 29, 2002

"In the coming months, it is anticipated that the pending acquisition of Valley Bank of Maryland will be completed. At such time, the company expects to realize additional net interest income and lower funding costs, lower taxes and lower custodial and other operating costs. These benefits are projected to increase earnings by approximately $2 million per quarter after incremental expenses and associated income taxes.

"We believe that American Home will resume making accretive acquisitions of mortgage companies and loan production offices in 2002. No acquisitions were completed in the second half of 2001 because the price expectation of sellers reflected the benefits being realized from refinancing, and consequently, considered acquisitions did not meet the financial requirements of our acquisition model. Price expectations are becoming more rational as refinance activity subsides to normal levels. While no assurance can be given, we believe it is likely that accretive acquisitions will positively impact our results in 2002, as they did in 2000.

"We have projected our results given our estimates of loan production and the benefits of Valley Bank. Based on our estimates, we are providing guidance for the first quarter that loan production is projected to be $1.8 billion and loan sales are projected to be $1.9 billion. We are giving guidance for the year ending December 31, 2002, absent mortgage franchise acquisitions and including consummation of our acquisition of Valley Bank, that loan production is projected to be $6.7 billion and our earnings are projected to be in the range of $2.25 to $2.35, with approximately $0.37 to $0.42 of those earnings projected to come from the benefits of Valley Bank, primarily during the second half of the year. It is important to note that our projections may vary widely from the actual results we achieve and there is no assurance that our actual loan production and income will not be substantially less than we project. Moreover, there is no assurance that we will realize income and not losses, and that the projections herein should be considered "forward looking statements."

"I want to thank the entire staff at American Home Mortgage for their extraordinary performance during the fourth quarter. Our financial results were made possible by their hard work and dedication, even at the height of the holiday season."

ABOUT AMERICAN HOME MORTGAGE

American Home Mortgage Holdings is a leading independent retail originator of residential mortgage loans both online and offline. Its online operation, MortgageSelect.com is a leader in online closed loan volume, and has outperformed its online competitors in terms of profitability. Offline, the company has grown organically and by acquisition. For additional information please visit the company's Website at www.mortgageselect.com.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This news release contains statements about future events and expectations, which are "forward-looking statements." Any statement in this release that is not a statement of historical fact, including, but not limited to earnings guidance and forecasts, and projections of financial results, may be deemed to be a forward-looking statement. Such forward-looking statements involve know and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the company's actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expresses or implied by such forward-looking statements. Specific factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to: the potential fluctuations in the company's operating results; the company's potential need for additional capital, the direction of interest rates and their subsequent effect on the company's business, federal and state regulation of mortgage banking; the company's competition; the company's ability to attract and retain skilled personnel; and those risks and uncertainties discussed in filings made by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those risks and uncertainties contained under the heading "Risk Factors" in the company's Registration Statement on Form S-1 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.