Mortgage profitability declined again in the final three months of 2004, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of decline, according to a new analysis by Inside Mortgage Profitability. A group of 28 mortgage lenders, representing a broad range of institutional sizes and business strategies, reported a combined $2.91 billion in mortgage banking income during the fourth quarter of last year. That was down 4.4 percent from the $3.05 billion the group earned in the third quarter…