Highlands Residential Mortgage acquires Equitable Mortgage, enters Ohio market

Highlands Residential Mortgage has acquired The Equitable Mortgage Corp., giving the Texas-based lender an immediate footprint in central Ohio’s competitive home purchase market.

Founded in 1995, Columbus-based Equitable Mortgage has funded more than $6 billion in residential loans over the past three decades, serving borrowers and real estate agents in central Ohio and parts of Florida, according a the company announcement.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

The M&A deal brings Highlands Residential into a key Midwestern market at a time when lenders are looking to grow mostly through acquisitions and branch roll-ins rather than de novo expansion, given higher mortgages rates, thin margins and limited refinance volume.

“Equitable Mortgage has created something special over the past three decades,” Brian Bennett, president of Highlands Residential Mortgage, said in a statement. “It is rare in our business to find a quality group of people with such a long tenure together and an outstanding reputation of delivering for their customers. We are excited to welcome the Equitable team to the Highlands family and look forward to
helping them build on the strong foundation they have established.”

Corey Caster, executive vice president and chief production officer at Highlands Residential, said the Equitable team has operated a “strong, relationship-driven business,” which Highlands views as a foundation for future growth.

Bruce Calabrese, CEO of Equitable Mortgage, framed the deal as a way to gain scale and technology while retaining the company’s local operating model. “Highlands provides the scale, tools, and platform to take what we’ve created to the next level, while staying true to the way we’ve always done business,” he said.

Highlands Residential Mortgage, headquartered in Allen, Texas, was founded in 2010 and operates branches in 17 states. It is licensed in 44 states and positions itself as a retail-focused, nationally distributed lender.

Per Modex data, Highlands Residential has 193 producing loan officers and posted a volume of $2.26 billion in 2025. Year to date, the company’s volume is $755.98 million.

Equitable Mortgage has 18 producing LOs and a year-to-date volume of $72.03 million. In 2025, the company produced $245.67 million in volume, Modex reported.

This article was generated using HousingWire Automation and reviewed by a HousingWire editor before publication. The system helps convert company announcements and industry data into HousingWire-style news coverage.