LOS ANGELES—Chinese developer Landsea plans to invest $1 billion in the US housing market over the next several years. The developer will use the funds to build residential communities in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The investment is the companies first in the US market.

The $1 billion will be spent to develop three projects in Simi Valley, north of Los Angeles, which will include two single-family home communities and an adult active center; and a 109-unit townhouse development 35 miles east of San Francisco in Dublin, CA, which will be called Kingswood by Landsea Homes. These projects are already under construction, and Kingswood by Landsea Homes is scheduled to come online in early 2015. The funds will also be used to development a 200-unit mid-rise luxury condominium complex in New Jersey that overlooks the New York skyline. Construction on this project has not yet begun.

These three sites represent the first phase of the $1 billion investment. The developer will be looking for additional project opportunities in the three markets noted above, but will also look for opportunities in Boston and Washington DC. Landsea did not respond to a request for comment.

Landsea chairman Tian Ming will travel to each property site in early September before celebrating the development and company's US foray at the Biltmore Hotel on September 4. Landsea's US headquarters is located close by in downtown Los Angeles.

Development of single-family homes seems to be picking up. Last month, KB Homes completed construction of two communities, one with condominiums and the other with 36 single-family homes. The communities are located in Playa Vista, CA.