In a prepared statement, Dee Anne Lerma, vice president of the 15-year-old residential mortgage firm, said "the expansion at Loop Central accommodates overall growth in every department of the company." Litton, which has Fitch's highest rating, acquires, services and secures credit-impaired residential mortgages such as sub-prime, high loan-to-value and non-performing loans.

The firm, signing a long-term lease, has been a tenant for the last two years in the 10-story, 198,946-sf building at 4828 Loop Central Dr. just outside the Galleria. The 97%-occupied building has an asking rate of $18 per sf.

Marshall Clinkscales of MSC Properties Inc. in Houston represented Litton in the lease negotiations. Rosemary Kogler and Brian McMackin, both with Lincoln Property Co.'s Houston office, negotiated for the building owner, W9/LWS II Real Estate LP, a joint venture of Lincoln Property and Whitehall Funds, the real estate arm of Goldman Sachs.