Buoyed by strong consumer demand for alternative mortgage products and the opportunity to cash in some of their home equity, mortgage origination volume topped the $3 trillion mark for just the second time ever in 2005. According to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis of extensive industry data, total originations hit $3.120 trillion in 2005. That was a largely unexpected gain of 6.8 percent over the $2.920 trillion produced in 2004, and marked the industry’s… [One data table included]