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Chinese Firm To Build 200 Homes In Simi Valley In Billion-Dollar US Investment

SIMI VALLEY (CBSLA.com) — A Chinese home-building company is breaking ground on dozens of new homes in Simi Valley as part of a $1 billion plan to invest in the U.S. housing market.

KNX 1070's Ed Mertz reports the Landsea Group looks to expand its investment in America even as the housing market in China continues to cool.

Chinese Firm To Build 200 Homes In Simi Valley In Billion-Dollar US Investment

As part of the company's foray into the U.S., Landsea founder and chairman Tian Ming and managing director John Ho toured the firm's sites in New Jersey and San Francisco before stopping in Simi Valley, where Landsea will introduce three new developments - two single family home projects and an active-adult building - which are currently under construction.

Ho said the firm hopes to build up to 200 homes in the Simi Valley, which he described as among the most desirable in the Southland.

"We like the current supply and demand of homes, we like the community, the safety of the community, the overall environment, we like the school district," said Ho. "Overall, we felt it was a very wise or very good investment."

The three developments mark the first phase of Landsea's billion-dollar American effort, which also includes plans for developments in Boston and Washington, D.C.

Real estate analysts have warned that a rocky housing market has spurred more Chinese investors to make all-cash offers on homes in San Francisco and across California - a trend that Ho suggested could continue for a while.

"In China, the growth has slowed, while the U.S. growth has expanded and the U.S. economy has expanded," he said. "At the same time, competition is much more fierce there."

A CBS News "60 Minutes" report aired last August showed what have become known as China's "ghost cities", uninhabited neighborhoods with massive housing developments that many analysts say points to a housing bubble on the Chinese mainland.

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