Looking to buy property overseas? These countries don’t want your money

If you’re looking to purchase property overseas, the options are becoming increasingly limited.

New Zealand is the latest country to clamp down on foreign real estate investment, citing concerns over dirty money and an affordable housing crisis, as the Wall Street Journal reports.

But several countries across Asia, Europe and even North America have adopted similar measures to cool off their booming housing markets in the past decade. Canada, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and New Zealand are just a handful of the nations to use instruments, such as tax hikes, reduced access to credit, and zoning, to curb the influx of overseas buyers and prioritize locals.

There are a few notable exceptions, however. The Maldives, which is heavily reliant on tourism, has cautiously welcomed foreign capital as a means of bringing more foreign direct investment into the country. [WSJ]–Patrick Mulholland