NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Following the subprime mortgage market collapse, new loans are down, and lenders are turning back to safer - less profitable - offerings. But with tougher competition and a shrinking market, they're getting a little more creative.

In January, more than 60 percent of all mortgage loans were made to prime customers with FICO scores of 650 or more. Those customers most often go the traditional 30-year, fixed-rate route - a simple, unsexy product that offers lenders little room to differentiate or to squeeze more profits out of their loans. Read More.