The irresistible charm of owning properties in other countries

Chinese investors are now among the biggest property buyers in the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan. Spooked by continuous Chinese capital inflows into local realty, some countries have even raised foreign ownership thresholds or raised barriers.

In July, Canada's British Columbia said it would levy an extra 15 percent of property transfer tax on overseas property owners in the Greater Vancouver area.

So far, housing prices at Vancouver, where housing prices rose the fastest globally last year, dropped more than 20 percent in August. Only a few clients of agencies closed the deals. Many agencies attributed the fall to the new policy.