Foreign Property Buyers Face Growing Restrictions — How Co-Ownership Offers a Smarter Path in 2026

The global property landscape for foreign buyers is shifting beneath their feet. In 2026, governments from Florida to Athens are tightening ownership restrictions, closing golden visa programmes, and making it harder — not easier — for non-residents to purchase real estate abroad. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that foreign buyers spent $56 billion on US homes in the year to March 2025, a 33% jump year-on-year. Demand is surging, but access is shrinking. The question every international buyer should be asking is: how do I get in before the doors close further?

The answer, increasingly, is co-ownership. Rather than navigating the legal minefield of full foreign property ownership — with its visa requirements, financing hurdles, and management headaches — a growing number of international buyers are choosing to purchase a deeded share in a professionally managed luxury property. It is real ownership, with real appreciation potential, at a fraction of the capital commitment. And crucially, the LLC structures used by platforms like Co-Ownership Property are specifically designed to work seamlessly for foreign nationals, sidestepping many of the barriers that block conventional purchases.

The regulatory environment for international property buyers has never been more complex. In the United States, 36 states have now enacted some form of restriction on foreign property ownership, according to research by the Committee of 100. Florida — historically the most popular destination for overseas buyers — has imposed near-total bans on purchases by nationals from designated countries, while other states restrict ownership near military installations and critical infrastructure.

Across the Atlantic, the picture is equally turbulent. Spain eliminated its golden visa programme in April 2025, cutting off a route that had funnelled billions of euros into coastal property. Portugal removed direct real estate purchases from its golden visa in 2023, redirecting applicants to investment funds. Greece, one of the last holdouts, now bans short-term rentals on golden visa properties and has raised minimum investment thresholds to €800,000 in Athens and popular islands. Even Hungary scrapped its €500,000 direct property route in January 2025.

Canada’s outright ban on foreign residential purchases, extended until January 2027, represents the bluntest instrument of all. Japan is conducting its first comprehensive review of foreign ownership rules, with policy recommendations expected imminently. The message from governments worldwide is clear: unrestricted foreign property ownership is a policy of the past.

Even where foreign ownership remains legal, the financial barriers are formidable. Non-resident buyers in the US typically face mortgage down payments of 30–50%, compared to 10–20% for domestic purchasers. Interest rates run significantly higher, and lenders require 12–24 months of liquid reserves. For a $1 million holiday home, a foreign buyer may need $500,000 in cash upfront plus $100,000 sitting in a bank account — simply to qualify.

Then there is the ongoing cost burden. A luxury property sitting empty for 300+ days per year still demands property taxes, insurance, maintenance, security, and management. The true cost of a luxury second home often shocks first-time buyers when they add up annual running costs of €15,000–€40,000 — on top of the mortgage. For a holiday home used six weeks a year, the effective cost per night can exceed what a five-star hotel charges.

Tax compliance adds another layer. Foreign sellers of US property face FIRPTA withholding of 15% on gross sale proceeds. Cross-border inheritance tax, capital gains liability in two jurisdictions, and annual tax filing obligations in the property’s country all create a web of complexity that requires expensive specialist advice. Many foreign buyers discover these costs only after committing to a purchase — when it is too late to walk away without losing their deposit.

Co-ownership restructures the entire proposition. Instead of one buyer shouldering the full purchase price, legal complexity, and running costs of a foreign property, eight co-owners share everything equally. Each owns a deeded share in an LLC that holds the property — real, legally protected ownership with none of the characteristics of a timeshare. The LLC structure is specifically optimised by specialist tax and law firms for cross-border holiday property holding.

For a foreign buyer, this changes the maths dramatically. A luxury villa on the Costa del Sol or a ski chalet in the French Alps that would cost €800,000 outright becomes accessible from around €100,000 for a one-eighth share. Running costs — maintenance, taxes, insurance, management — are split eight ways. And because the property is fully managed by professionals, the owner never needs to coordinate with contractors, cleaners, or local agencies from thousands of miles away.

The LLC structure also offers significant legal advantages for foreign nationals. Rather than navigating individual country restrictions on foreign ownership, the buyer purchases a share in a legal entity. In many jurisdictions, this simplifies the purchase process, reduces tax exposure, and avoids the triggers that activate foreign buyer surcharges or restrictions. It is a structure that international property lawyers routinely recommend to cross-border investors.

The shift toward shared and fractional ownership is not a niche trend — it is a structural change in how international buyers approach luxury property. Knight Frank’s 2025 Wealth Report identified fractional ownership as one of the fastest-growing segments in the global luxury real estate market, driven by buyers seeking diversification, flexibility, and lower capital intensity.

According to NAR data, the median purchase price for foreign buyers in the US hit a record $494,400 in 2025, with 47% paying all cash. These are affluent, sophisticated buyers who understand property — and who are increasingly choosing co-ownership not because they cannot afford full ownership, but because it makes better financial sense. Why tie up $500,000 in one property when you could own shares in three different destinations for the same outlay, each professionally managed and generating potential rental income?

The demographics tell the story too. The core co-ownership buyer is aged 40–55, typically a senior professional or business owner with a portfolio that already includes a primary residence. Many have previously owned second homes and switched to co-ownership specifically to escape the maintenance burden, the capital inefficiency, and the guilt of a luxury property sitting empty 90% of the year.

Understanding exactly what co-ownership delivers is essential for any international buyer weighing their options. A one-eighth share provides approximately 45 days of personal use per year — more than most second-home owners actually spend at their property. Booking is flexible through a dedicated app, with reservations possible from two days to two years in advance. There are no fixed weeks, no rotation schedules, and no blackout dates.

When you arrive, your personal belongings are taken out of storage and the property is prepared specifically for you. When you leave, everything is handled. Cleaning, maintenance, administration — all managed. You never need to contact or coordinate with other co-owners. This fully managed model is transformative for foreign owners who may be thousands of miles away and in a completely different time zone.

Properties available through Co-Ownership Property span luxury villas, chalets, and apartments across the most desirable destinations in Europe and the USA — from Colorado ski properties and California coastal homes to Balearic island villas and Italian lakeside retreats. Each property is fully renovated and furnished to a designer standard. This is turnkey luxury — you buy a share and start using it.

The comparison becomes stark when you lay the numbers side by side. A foreign buyer purchasing a €1 million villa outright in Spain faces the purchase price, 10–13% in transaction taxes and fees, annual running costs of €15,000–€25,000, the management burden of finding reliable local support, and a property that sits empty for the vast majority of the year. Total five-year cost of ownership, including opportunity cost on capital, can easily exceed €1.3 million — for a property used perhaps 40 days annually.

A one-eighth co-ownership share in the same property costs from around €125,000. Annual running costs are split eight ways. The property is professionally managed year-round. You still get your 45 days of use, but your capital exposure is dramatically lower — freeing up funds for other investments or, indeed, for purchasing shares in additional properties across different destinations. If you want a ski week in the Alps and a summer month on the Mediterranean, co-ownership makes both possible without the seven-figure commitment.

Resale is another advantage foreign owners rarely consider until they need it. Selling a full property abroad as a non-resident can take 6–18 months, involves complex cross-border tax filings, and often requires price reductions to attract buyers in a market you cannot easily monitor from afar. Co-ownership shares, by contrast, are first offered to existing co-owners in the property and then listed for sale — with average resale times of around one month or less.

The collapse of European golden visa programmes has left many international buyers scrambling for alternatives. But co-ownership was never dependent on visa incentives — it stands on its own merits as a property ownership model. Whether or not a country offers residency in exchange for property investment, the fundamentals of co-ownership remain compelling: lower capital outlay, shared costs, professional management, and genuine deeded ownership.

In fact, the tightening regulatory environment may accelerate the shift toward co-ownership. As full foreign ownership becomes more restricted and more expensive, the co-ownership model — with its LLC-based structure, its lower capital threshold, and its built-in management — becomes relatively more attractive. Buyers who previously would have purchased outright are discovering that co-ownership delivers a better lifestyle outcome at a fraction of the cost, without the regulatory headaches that now plague direct foreign purchases.

For American buyers looking at European properties, or European buyers eyeing US luxury markets, co-ownership also provides natural currency diversification. Owning shares in properties denominated in both euros and dollars hedges against exchange rate movements — a concern that has become increasingly relevant as currency volatility has intensified in recent years.

The buying process for co-ownership is deliberately streamlined for international purchasers. It begins with a consultation to understand your lifestyle preferences, budget, and usage patterns — do you want beach, mountain, or city? Europe, USA, or both? From there, the team at Co-Ownership Property presents curated properties that match your criteria, complete with full financial breakdowns and legal documentation.

Due diligence is handled transparently. Every property comes with a comprehensive checklist covering legal structure, management arrangements, running costs, usage rights, and resale provisions. For foreign buyers, this removes the single biggest source of anxiety: the fear of navigating an unfamiliar legal system in a language you may not speak. The LLC structure, the management framework, and the booking system are all standardised — regardless of whether the property is in Marbella or Montana.

The final step is straightforward. Once you have selected your property and completed due diligence, the purchase of your share is executed through the LLC. There is no need to establish local residency, obtain a local mortgage, or navigate foreign buyer restrictions independently. The legal entity already holds the property — you are simply acquiring your stake in it. For many foreign buyers, this simplicity is the single most compelling reason to choose co-ownership over the traditional route.