AnnieMac expands footprint in Kansas, adding $220M Wichita team

AnnieMac Home Mortgage has recruited a roughly 12-person retail lending team in Wichita, Kansas, that had joined Union Home Mortgage (UHM) following its acquisition of Sierra Pacific Mortgage in September 2025, the company confirmed to HousingWire.

The move gives AnnieMac a new geographic foothold and adds a group that originated about $220 million in mortgages over the past 12 months, according to chief operating officer Craig Ungaro. Overall, AnnieMac produced $2.2 billion in mortgages year to date with 622 loan officers, a net gain of 55 LOs compared to August 2025, per data from mortgage analytics firm RETR.

The Wichita team is led by branch manager Brian McGinley and is primarily composed of loan officers with a small operations staff. For larger branches like the new Wichita office, AnnieMac uses a profit-and-loss model that leadership said favors strong local operators.

UHM CEO Bill Cosgrove said the asset acquisition of Sierra “went well,” and that the people at Sierra who are now settled at UHM “are doing fantastic.”

“Whatever decisions people made prior to coming to Union Home, we really can’t control that. But a vast majority of Sierra Pacific [employees] who are now partners at Union Home are doing tremendous, they’re very happy, and we’re very happy with the transaction as well,” Cosgrove added. “The vast majority of Sierra Pacific endorsed it, and they’ve been committed to it.”

UHM has produced about $4.4 billion in mortgages year to date, with about 860 loan officers, per RETR. It gained 182 LOs and lost 223 since August 2025.

Unique product sets, growth strategies

According to Ungaro, AnnieMac has “very unique products that are proprietary,” which is “very appealing for producers like the group that’s coming over because it helps them grow their book of business.”

Ungaro pointed to AnnieMac’s cash-offer program and buy-now-sell-later products, which have been in place for several years but have accelerated more recently. He also mentioned an appraisal assurance option added in early 2025. The company hit $1 billion worth of transactions on these programs about four months ago.

For AnnieMac, which prioritizes long-term potential in hiring, the addition also opens a new market.

“AnnieMac is very big on character hiring,” Ungaro said. “It’s not always just a number that comes with production. We bring on producers that have no production, but we believe in their ability to grow it, and that’s what really is most appealing to this.”

AnnieMac has leaned on both mergers and acquisitions and organic recruiting. Ungaro said the company grew “a little less than 40%” from 2024 to 2025 and is targeting similar expansion this year. It’s bringing in teams the size of the one in Wichita “probably once a quarter,” he added, with “half a dozen to a dozen new loan officers every month.”

On the competition side, Ungaro said signing bonuses and financial packages have cooled from their COVID-era peak but have started to firm up again.

“I felt like it cooled off a little bit over the last six to 12 months, but I do feel it’s picked back up a little bit,” he said. “I’m speculating on this part, but the rate environment — sometimes when it tightens up, people have to pay a little bit more to grow.

“There are a lot of companies that are in growth mode, and when they’re not able to do anything to acquire more, they step up those offers. It’s getting a little bit more aggressive over the last 60 to 90 days.”