Alternative A and home-equity lending were the only mortgage species to increase in volume from the end of last year to the first quarter of 2005, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance market analysis and ranking. While overall mortgage originations dropped 6.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2004, the burgeoning Alt A sector climbed to a record $62.0 billion in production in the first three months of this year, a hefty 14.8 percent…