The PMI Group, Inc. to Issue Australian Residential Property Overview Report

Business Wire, July 12, 2004

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- The PMI Group, Inc. (NYSE:PMI) will issue a Residential Property Market Overview report, which provides a synopsis of current Australia residential property market trends on Thursday, July 15, 2004. The Residential Property Market Overview report was produced by PMI Mortgage Insurance Ltd (PMI Australia) in conjunction with BIS Shrapnel Pty Limited.

PMI will post the Residential Property Market Overview report on the Investor Relations homepage on PMI's website and feature a link to the relevant page to permit downloading of the report.

Among the highlights of the Residential Property Market Overview report are the following:

--Australia's housing markets surged from the late 1990s through the last half of 2003 as a result of low interest rates, attractive financing, higher wages, good employment levels, and a healthy economy.

--Economic growth is expected to continue as the Australian economy remains strong and inflationary pressures are benign.

--The Reserve Bank of Australia increased the overnight cash rate by 25 basis points in November 2003 and another 25 basis points in December of 2003 to 5.25%, which helped to dampen the real estate market.

--Information released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicates that the price for an existing home in Australia increased 2.5% in the first quarter of 2004, compared to a 6% increase in the fourth quarter of 2003. This is the lowest quarterly increase since the first quarter of 2001. Over the next two years, the forecast indicates a return to a balanced supply and demand condition and more moderate appreciation rates.

--The already low unemployment rate of 5.6% may drop to a 30-year low of 5.0% in the next two years as businesses meet "pent-up demand" for capital investment and expansion.

--For the longer-term horizon (2007-08), as long term interest rates move up, there could be a drop in Australia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) leading to a softening of the economy, increased unemployment, and a flattening or even a slight decline in home values.

BIS Shrapnel Pty Limited (BIS Shrapnel) is an independent firm with no financial interest in any of the industry sectors or companies that it researches and analyzes. The company performs economic analysis and forecasting, coupled with marketing intelligence gathering and analysis. BIS Shrapnel's reports analyze and forecast market developments, competition and trends in a large range of industry sectors and across a growing spectrum of geographic regions.

PMI Australia is one of the largest mortgage insurers in Australia and New Zealand with over 35 years experience in the Australian market and 15 years in the New Zealand market. PMI Australia provides a variety of credit enhancement products to the majority of bank and non-bank lending institutions in Australia and New Zealand. In addition, PMI Australia provides credit enhancement for residential mortgage-backed securitization (RMBS) programs, which underpin much of the mortgage lending from the non-bank sector.

PMI Australia's global parent, The PMI Group, Inc., headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, is an international provider of credit enhancement products that promote homeownership and facilitate mortgage transactions in the capital markets. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries and unconsolidated strategic investments, the company offers residential mortgage insurance and credit enhancement products domestically and internationally, financial guaranty insurance and financial guaranty reinsurance.

Forward-Looking Statements: Statements in this press release that are not historical facts or that relate to future plans, events or performance are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include each of the five highlights of the Residential Property Market Overview ("Overview") noted in the third paragraph of this press release. These forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions of future movements in interest rates, and rates of economic growth, in Australia that are beyond the control of PMI. The information and statements contained in the Overview are not a guarantee of future property market trends in Australia and actual developments may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the Overview. Risks and uncertainties that could affect PMI and PMI Australia are discussed in its various Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including its report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2004. PMI undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements.