JERSEY CITY, N.J.—On a recent Tuesday morning, Alan Dixon, an investment manager originally from Canberra, Australia, stood in front of a four-story townhouse here, one of the latest assets he purchased for his company's shareholders.

Mr. Dixon's company, US Masters Residential Property Fund, bought the home on Erie Street in this city on the Hudson River waterfront for $830,000 in September. Inside, workmen installed subway tile in the bathrooms, preparing the three-bedroom home to be leased for $3,295 a month, "like...