[August 04, 2020]

Arch MI's Summer HaMMR Reports COVID-19 Is Fueling Demand for Homes and Price Growth

With so many people working at home due to COVID-19, housing is outperforming other segments of the economy, according to the Summer edition of The Housing and Mortgage Market Review (HaMMR), released today by Arch Mortgage Insurance Company (Arch MI), a leading provider of mortgage insurance.

"There are a number of positives for the housing market that are likely to be strong enough to keep home price growth positive for the year," said Dr. Ralph G. DeFranco, Global Chief Economist for Arch Capital Services Inc. "The pandemic is boosting housing demand for homes with additional room for home offices, gyms and remote learning."

Increasingly, buyers are looking for primary or second homes located outside big cities, but still within driving distance of their workplaces. They are leveraging historically low mortgage rates to buy properties with more indoor and outdoor space.

The year began with a large housing shortage, and home prices are up in all 50 states over the past year, with the fastest growth occurring in Idaho, Arizona, Montana, New Mexico and Wyoming. The slowest growth rate in home prices occurred in Hawaii, Illinois, North Dakota, Alaska and Iowa.

Commentary resources:

? The Housing and Mortgage Market Review is posted at archmi.com/hammr. The Summer 2020 issue focuses on home price growth, relocation trends, modeling forbearances and how the current housing environment compares to conditions in the five most recent recessions.

? Dr. DeFranco will host a Housing Update webinar discussing market conditions and the details of HaMMR on Wednesday, Aug. 5 (2:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. PT). Registration is free at archmi.com/hammr.

About Arch Mortgage Insurance Company

Arch Capital Group Ltd.'s U.S. mortgage insurance operation, Arch MI, is a leading provider of private insurance covering mortgage credit risk. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, Arch MI's mission is to protect lenders against credit risk, while extending the possibility of responsible homeownership to qualified borrowers. Arch MI's flagship mortgage insurer, Arch Mortgage Insurance Company, is licensed to write mortgage insurance in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. For more information, visit archmi.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 ("PSLRA") provides a "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements. This release or any other written or oral statements made by or on behalf of Arch Capital Group Ltd. and its subsidiaries may include forward-looking statements, which reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in or incorporated by reference in this release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, for purposes of the PSLRA or otherwise, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe" or "continue" and similar statements of a future or forward-looking nature or their negative or variations or similar terminology.

Forward-looking statements involve our current assessment of risks and uncertainties. Actual events and results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. A non-exclusive list of the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements includes the following: adverse general economic and market conditions; increased competition; pricing and policy term trends; fluctuations in the actions of rating agencies and our ability to maintain and improve our ratings; investment performance; the loss of key personnel; the adequacy of our loss reserves, severity and/or frequency of losses, greater than expected loss ratios and adverse development on claim and/or claim expense liabilities; greater frequency or severity of unpredictable natural and man-made catastrophic events; the effect of contagious diseases (including COVID-19); the impact of acts of terrorism and acts of war; changes in regulations and/or tax laws in the United States or elsewhere; our ability to successfully integrate, establish and maintain operating procedures as well as integrate the businesses we have acquired or may acquire into the existing operations; changes in accounting principles or policies; material differences between actual and expected assessments for guaranty funds and mandatory pooling arrangements; availability and cost to us of reinsurance to manage our gross and net exposures; the failure of others to meet their obligations to us; changes in the method for determining the London Inter-bank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") and the potential replacement of LIBOR and other factors identified in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The foregoing review of important factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with other cautionary statements that are included herein or elsewhere. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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