What does Manhattan's tallest residential tower have in common with the Hooters hotel-casino in Las Vegas? They're investments for rich families.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and HSBC Holdings Plc are among banks presenting elite customers with offerings once confined to big institutional investors: access to real estate projects such as Manhattan's 432 Park Ave., Las Vegas's Hooters hotel and $100 million Los Angeles mansions. With the ranks of the rich growing, the perk gives wealthy clients a chance to benefit from soaring property values and step into marquee deals.

"It's a way clients globally are gaining exposure to real estate in bite-sized chunks," said Paul Forshaw, London-based head of real estate fund management for HSBC Alternative Investments Ltd., which requires clients to put in at least $5 million for "club" deals.

"Our clients have financial resources, absolutely," Forshaw said. "But it can still be difficult for people to enter the real estate market when they don't have a track record. That's where people like ourselves can help."

Rising Demand

While banks have long helped clients find property deals, the push into direct transactions for groups of wealthy people seeking high-profile investments has been relatively new. For JPMorgan and Citigroup it began about four years ago, as real estate started rebounding from the financial crisis, and demand is accelerating. Citi Private Bank offered five such deals to clients so far this year, compared with three in 2012.

Typically, managers target internal rates of return in the mid-teens for the real estate investors, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be named because the performance information is private.