Chinese investor breaks ground on first U.S. apartment complex

A Chinese investment company listed on the NYSE has launched the first of several planned multi-family developments in the United States, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal.

Xinyuan Real Estate Co. is constructing a 216-unit condo building in Brooklyn, in the Williamsburg section, its first U.S. residential development. The company is also scouting for other U.S. sites, and plans to sell 40% of the units to Chinese investors, the newspaper reported.

Two dozen Chinese real estate companies, both state-owned and private, are surveying the United States for potential properties, according to a real estate adviser interviewed by the Wall Street Journal. Most of them are interested in residential projects.

Lennar Corp. is currently in talks with the Chinese Development Bank for about $1.7 billion in capital to redevelop two San Francisco naval bases into large housing complexes, the article said.

Metro markets of particular interest to Chinese investors are New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami, where they can use the properties as rentals or second homes.