The downturn in new mortgage production in 2005 probably won’t be as severe as last year’s retrenchment – but it won’t be the end of the slide either. The consensus forecast from top mortgage industry economists is that 2005 originations will drop about 17 percent from last year’s estimated $2.77 trillion. Given that new mortgage production plummeted by an estimated 28 percent last year, from the record $3.85 trillion set in 2003, another big decline…