Cross-border real estate investing in 2026 should be judged less by headline prices and more by taxes, liquidity, foreign-ownership rules, currency exposure, and whether the purchase also supports a residency or citizenship strategy. Some markets remain useful for lifestyle or diversification, but others carry high entry costs, weak yields, exit friction, or political risk for foreign owners.
Real estate can serve several roles at once. It may provide rental income, capital appreciation, a physical fallback location, currency diversification, or a route to residency or citizenship. The key question is which objective comes first: whether the property is the investment and residency is a byproduct, or whether residency is the main goal and property is only the vehicle.
A cross-border property decision depends on five core factors:
- Entry costs: stamp duty, transfer tax, foreign-buyer surcharges, legal costs, and closing fees.
- Exit costs: capital gains tax, sales taxes, broker fees, and other costs paid when selling.
- Foreign ownership rules: whether a foreigner can own the asset, resell it freely, or sell it to another buyer seeking residency or citizenship.
- Residency and tax impact: whether the purchase grants residency, creates tax-residency risks, or fits into a broader mobility structure.
- Liquidity and capital movement: how easily the investor can sell, receive proceeds, convert currency, and move money out.
These factors matter because a property that looks profitable on paper may produce weak returns after fees, taxes, currency conversion, capital controls, and resale restrictions.
Why Real Estate Still Has a Role
Real estate is not the only vehicle for international diversification. Gold, fixed income, stocks, operating businesses, and other assets can also provide geographic or currency exposure. But property has characteristics that can make it useful as part of a broader strategy.
Unlike public markets, a property owner can often influence the result at the asset level. Returns may improve through better management, higher rent, renovation, extension, or repositioning. A property can also combine yield and capital growth: it may generate rental income while also increasing in value.
Leverage can amplify returns, but it is not always available or attractive. In some regions, including parts of South America and other emerging markets, debt can be expensive. In residency or citizenship-linked property purchases, leverage may also be limited because programs often require a qualifying amount of equity investment.
Markets to Avoid or Treat With Caution
United Kingdom and London
The UK, especially London, is presented as one of the least attractive real estate markets for foreign investors in 2026.
London has features that appeal to international buyers: rule of law, English language, a deep tenant pool, global prestige, and familiarity among wealthy families. But the investment case weakens once entry taxes, ownership costs, political direction, and returns are considered.
Foreign buyers and owners of additional dwellings face high surcharges. In Prime Central London, double-digit percentages of the purchase price can go to HMRC before the buyer even occupies the property. The transcript describes the UK as having unusually high entry tax for foreign buyers compared with other major markets.
The exit side is also unattractive. The transcript describes a market where some wealthy owners have been selling properties at 5% to 10% below market value to offload exposure, citing weak returns and uncertainty about the future.
The broader concern is that political and tax pressure on property owners has increased. For investors, this means the UK may still function as a perceived safe-haven asset, but not necessarily as a strong return market.
Spain
Spain is described as attractive for living but weak for making money through property or business.
The transcript points to restrictions on foreign ownership, Airbnb limits, and political pressure around housing affordability. It also mentions discussion of a potential 100% surcharge on the value of property for non-EU citizens buying in Spain.
Spain’s golden visa closure is framed as part of a wider political response to housing pressure, though the transcript argues that foreign buyers are not the only factor affecting the property market.
For investors, the main issue is that Spain may offer lifestyle value but not necessarily strong net returns after regulation, taxes, and restrictions.
Canada
Canada is also treated as a difficult market for foreign buyers, especially because of taxes and restrictions designed to cool housing prices.
The transcript highlights Vancouver as a market strongly affected by foreign ownership concerns. Canada has implemented or considered foreign-buyer taxes in addition to land transfer taxes. Vacancy taxes may also apply if a unit is not occupied for enough days each year.
Non-resident sellers can also face capital gains tax and withholding requirements when selling.
The broader concern is that policy is moving against foreign ownership. While this may be intended to help local affordability, it can reduce the attractiveness of Canadian property for non-resident investors.
Australia
Australia is described as increasingly restrictive for foreign property buyers.
Foreign buyers generally need approval from a review board, and the fees for the approval process have increased. The policy direction is described as intended to limit or discourage foreign purchases.
For a foreign investor, this creates friction before purchase and adds uncertainty to the investment process.
China
China is described as unattractive for real estate investment because of debt stress in the property sector, defaults among major developers, unclear market conditions, low or absent yields in some cases, and difficulty exiting.
The transcript says many Chinese buyers are stuck with properties that are not lived in, do not generate yield, and are not worth what they paid.
Capital controls are a separate risk. Even if an investor can enter the market, getting money out after liquidation may be difficult.
Middle Markets Requiring Nuance
Portugal
Portugal is not categorized as either clearly good or clearly bad. It depends heavily on the region, asset class, structure, and property type.
Some areas became very hot, while others performed less strongly. Portugal has had a strong property market, but the transcript warns that gains can shrink sharply when selling costs are included.
The key issue is that headline appreciation and yield may look attractive on paper, but broker fees, VAT, closing costs, legal costs, and capital gains tax can reduce or eliminate profit.
Portugal is therefore a market where investors must calculate full entry and exit costs before buying, not just expected price growth.
Thailand
Thailand is also treated as a nuanced market.
Foreigners generally cannot own land. They may own condominium units outright within a building-level foreign quota, or lease land long-term. But a lease is not the same as freehold ownership.
Thailand can work for the right buyer, project, and structure, especially for lifestyle use. The transcript describes Thailand as a place to live, enjoy, and derive personal benefit from, but not primarily as an investment market.
Markets Seen as More Attractive
United Arab Emirates
The UAE is presented as the strongest market for 2026, partly because of lower acquisition and disposal costs, no tax on returns or capital gains described in the transcript, attractive residency options, and underlying fundamentals.
The transcript says 2026 may be a better entry point because the market has seen a pullback after years of strong growth. Earlier years such as 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 were described as attractive, while 2024 and 2025 looked more expensive, especially for off-plan properties priced at premiums over ready properties.
The market had seen roughly 16 consecutive quarters of growth, which led to profit-taking in 2025. The 2026 correction is framed as a possible opportunity rather than a reason to dismiss the market entirely.
The UAE’s appeal is not only real estate-specific. It is also linked to broader factors such as low tax, light-touch business policy, high GDP, and relatively low on- and off-ramp costs.
Italy
Italy is considered attractive only in selected areas and asset classes.
The transcript warns against buying blindly across the country, especially in the south, where cheap prices and decent yields may be offset by depopulation and difficult resale. Southern Italy may make sense for personal use, but future sale can be complicated.
The buying process can be slow, and notary fees can take a significant share of potential profit.
Milan is treated differently. Demand may be supported by Italy’s non-dom tax incentive, which rose from €100,000 to €200,000 and then €300,000, with the increases described as evidence of continued demand. Italy may appeal to certain buyers, including people from the US with ancestry, familiarity with the country, or interest in quality of life and relatively lower European living costs.
Greece
Greece is presented as a strong recent performer, supported by its recovery from a low base after the global financial crisis and debt restructuring period.
The transcript describes Greece as aligned with global capital movement and positioned well through its golden visa. Property prices have performed strongly, and the broader economy is described as improving.
The caution is that Greece, like other European property markets, still requires careful analysis of entry costs, exit costs, taxes, and the chosen location.
United States
The United States remains a market worth considering, though not without caveats.
The transcript describes the US as a good property market but notes that yields had become too close to lending rates, contributing to a flatter market over the previous 12 to 24 months. This made the market less attractive for investors seeking higher returns.
Property management and insurance costs can also reduce net returns.
Within the US, the transcript favors tax-friendly states and areas attracting wealth migration, such as Texas and Florida. It warns against states with aggressive tax policies, citing California as an example of a market where people are moving away and real estate is performing less well.
Practical Strategy for 2026
Investors should begin with the objective, not the country. The same property can look good or bad depending on whether the goal is:
- Cash flow
- Capital growth
- Residency
- Citizenship
- Diversification
- Lifestyle use
- Currency exposure
- A fallback location
The strongest markets are described as those with low acquisition costs, low exit costs, light-touch government, low taxes, pro-business policy, and economic fundamentals that support demand.
A practical approach is to start from the macro picture, then narrow down to the city, neighborhood, property type, and specific project. Infrastructure projects nearby can be part of the analysis, but they should be considered alongside liquidity, taxes, ownership rules, and resale prospects.
The main warning is that residency or citizenship value should not blind investors to weak property economics. A property linked to a visa can still be a poor investment if it is hard to sell, heavily taxed, overpriced, illiquid, or located in a market with declining demand.
