The map has split in two directions
For most of the 2010s, the default assumption among internationally mobile buyers was that developed residential markets were open if you could pay. That assumption is obsolete. Several high-rule-of-law markets have either prohibited foreign purchase outright, confined foreigners to new-build stock, or raised transfer taxes to levels that function as economic bans. At the same time, Gulf jurisdictions have been widening freehold access and property-linked residency. The useful research question is no longer "which city has the nicest brochure" — it is which legal regime still permits you to own, on what terms, and with what fiscal stack.
This insight walks the closed and partially closed markets first, then the high-tax open markets that still admit foreigners, then the Gulf openers. Every figure below is drawn from the market files on this site; where data is thin or seller-sourced, that is stated.
Canada — CLOSED until at least 1 January 2027
Canada's Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act has barred most foreign nationals from buying residential property with three or fewer dwelling units in Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations since 1 January 2023. Originally a two-year measure, it was extended via the Budget Implementation Act to 1 January 2027 (youroverseashome.com / wealthnorth.ca, as of 2026-04). This is not a surcharge you plan around. It is a federal legal bar.
Carve-outs exist: rural areas and small towns outside CMAs/CAs; buildings with four or more units; vacant land and redevelopment property under 2023 amendments; and narrow exemptions for permanent residents, certain work-permit holders, and certain international students (wealthnorth.ca, as of 2026-04). Provincial Non-Resident Speculation Taxes in British Columbia and Ontario can still stack where a purchase is legally permitted. For a typical foreign buyer asking about Toronto or Vancouver urban stock, the honest answer on /markets/canada is that you cannot buy.
The ban's empirical case is uncomfortable for its own advocates. Foreign buyers were 1.1% of British Columbia home sales in 2021, while average Canadian house prices rose more than 20% over the ban years, and CMHC continues to warn that annual housing starts must roughly double — toward 380,000–480,000 units against roughly 259,000 — to restore affordability (cyprus-ceo.com analysis citing those figures, as of 2026-07). Housing Minister Gregor Robertson confirmed in December 2025 that the government is reviewing the post-2027 framework; the leading model under discussion is Australian-style: foreigners permitted into new construction and vacant land, still barred from existing homes (mpamag.com / BLG commentary, as of 2026-07). That is a signal, not a legislated reopening. Watch Canada. Do not underwrite a 2027 purchase on hope.
Australia — PARTIALLY CLOSED to mid-2029
Australia did not copy Canada's blanket ban. It did something more coherent and more durable: foreign persons — including temporary residents and foreign-owned companies — are banned from buying established (second-hand) dwellings until 30 June 2029, after Budget 2026–27 extended the original April 2025 measure by two years and three months (ato.gov.au, as of 2026-05). New dwellings and vacant land for development generally remain permitted with Foreign Investment Review Board approval before completion.
That distinction matters. A foreign buyer can still participate in Australian residential property — but only in the segment that adds supply, and only after case-by-case FIRB review. State surcharge duties and foreign-owner land tax surcharges stack on top. International counsel has described the policy as a "durable response to housing concerns," and Canada is openly studying it as a post-2027 template (ato.gov.au / related commentary in the Canada file, as of 2026-05–2026-07). Assume the direction of travel is more restriction on established stock, not less. Details sit on /markets/australia.
Singapore — open in law, closed in price
Singapore has not banned foreign buyers of private condominiums. It has made most foreign purchases economically irrational. A foreigner pays a flat 60% Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty on any residential purchase — first or fifteenth, owner-occupied or investment — unchanged since the 27 April 2023 cooling measures (iras.gov.sg, as of 2026-06). Stack progressive Buyer's Stamp Duty on top and total duties reach roughly 65% of purchase price; a worked example on a SGD 2,500,000 condo puts combined duties near SGD 1.6 million, payable in cash within 14 days (singaporeemploymentagency.com, as of 2026-04).
Entities pay 65% ABSD — higher than individuals — because the framework was built to close corporate loopholes. Gross residential yields commonly cited in the 2.5–4% range cannot amortise a ~65% duty stack (homejourney.sg, as of 2026-02). The one genuine escape hatch is nationality-based: under the US-Singapore and EFTA-Singapore FTAs, nationals of the USA, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland can claim 0% ABSD on a first property (singaporeemploymentagency.com, as of 2026-06). For everyone else, /markets/singapore is research on why not to force the arithmetic.
Spain and Portugal — Golden Visa property routes abolished; UK stacks SDLT
Spain permanently closed its investor Golden Visa to new applicants on 3 April 2025 under Organic Law 1/2025; buying Spanish property at any value confers no residency (pellicerheredia.com, as of 2026-06). Portugal removed real estate from Golden Visa qualifying investments under Law 56/2023 from October 2023 (harris-sliwoski.com, as of 2026-05). Both markets remain open to foreign purchase — Spain with no nationality restrictions on title (realtytimes.com, as of 2026-07); Portugal likewise (portugalpropertyinvest.com, as of 2026-05) — but the residency marketing that once justified stretched entry prices is gone.
Portugal added a further fiscal deterrent in 2026: a flat 7.5% IMT for non-resident residential buyers, replacing the progressive scale, with total non-resident transaction costs commonly budgeted around 10.5–12% (youroverseashome.com, as of 2026-04). Spain's transfer tax is regional (ITP typically 6–13%) and nationality-blind at the headline rate, but non-EU non-resident landlords have historically paid 24% on gross rental income with no deductions — a running-cost problem that outlives any Golden Visa debate (mpdunne.com, as of 2026-03).
The United Kingdom never banned foreign buyers. It taxed them. A non-resident buying an additional dwelling pays standard SDLT bands plus a 5% additional-dwelling surcharge plus a 2% non-resident surcharge — a 7% uplift on every band, producing effective bands from 7% up to 19% (gofile.co.uk, as of 2026-03). On a £400,000 buy-to-let, non-resident SDLT alone is approximately £36,250 before legal costs (calculatemystampduty.co.uk, as of 2026-05). No property-linked residency exists after closure of the Tier 1 Investor visa in February 2022 (gov.uk, as of 2026-07). See /markets/uk, /markets/spain, and /markets/portugal.
Where capital can still go — the Gulf openers
Against that backdrop, the Gulf pattern runs the other way. The UAE permits freehold ownership for all nationalities in 60+ designated Dubai freehold zones, with a 4% DLD transfer fee as the headline transaction tax and a 10-year Golden Visa from AED 2,000,000 of qualifying property (dubailand.gov.ae / visahq.news, as of 2026-05–2026-07). Gross apartment yields around 6.5–7% and no personal income tax, capital gains tax, or annual property tax for individuals remain the structural offer (realestateclubdubai.com / polaris.ae, as of 2026-05–2026-07).
Qatar offers freehold in designated zones including The Pearl and parts of Lusail under Law No. 16 of 2018, with property-linked residency from roughly QAR 730,000 (~USD 200,000) and a higher permanent-residency tier near QAR 3,650,000 (~USD 1,000,000) (moj.gov.qa, as of 2026-06). Saudi Arabia's Law of Real Estate Ownership by Non-Saudis came into force on 21 January 2026 — a designated-zone opening with roughly 10% transaction tax burden when 5% RETT and the up-to-5% non-Saudi disposal fee are stacked, and Premium Residency via property from SAR 4,000,000 (whitecase.com / sandsofwealth.com / rakez.sa, as of 2025-12–2026-06). Oman confines foreign freehold to licensed Integrated Tourism Complexes and relaunched Golden Residency on 31 August 2025, though credible sources still conflict on exact Omani thresholds (sandsofwealth.com / aida-oceana.com, as of 2026-02–2026-07).
None of those Gulf markets is a substitute for Canadian title depth or Singaporean institutional quality. They are the markets that still answer "yes" when a foreign buyer asks whether purchase is legal and, in several cases, whether residency attaches. For readers blocked in Canada or priced out of Singapore, the comparative pages that matter are /markets/uae, /markets/qatar, /markets/saudi-arabia, and /markets/oman — read with the same scepticism applied to seller yield claims anywhere else.
Research posture
This insight is research on foreign-ownership rules and fiscal stacks across markets where CoreSpaces does not operate, except the UAE. It is not personalised legal, tax, or immigration advice. Figures and deadlines (Canada 2027, Australia mid-2029, ABSD rates, Golden Visa abolitions) may change. Outside the UAE, treat every page as research-only; in the UAE, CoreSpaces Realty LLC is RERA-licensed. Verify current law with local counsel before assuming any exemption or route applies to you.