Chinese buyers are abandoning Australian real estate and turning to Serbia.

The eventual accession of Central Europe to the European Union could be a reality, she said, referring to Serbia, which has applied to join before Brussels.

But capital is leaving China, Ms. Yong said. The main reasons for Australia's continued retreat are high real estate sales tax and oversight by the Foreign Investment Review Agency. In almost every state, foreign buyers of real estate are required to pay additional fees. In January, about half of the 160 Chinese real estate agents surveyed by another Investorist marketer in its international real estate analysis report said they were continuing to sell Australian properties, but only half said they would continue to do so by the end of 2019. Ms. Yeung's clients, who are now buying property on her new international platform sodichan.com, have the same reasons for buying in Serbia - more friends working on joint Serbia-China infrastructure projects, and the price.

Very Chinese-friendly "Leaning on the Silk Road, a 700-square-meter single-family villa in Serbia's capital costs just 600,000 yuan (about $120,000). A group of bosses from Zhejiang have already opened supermarkets there, are wholesaling and business is booming," commented one shopper in a chat on Chinese social media site Baidu. "Serbian folk style is simple, warm and welcoming, blue sky and white clouds, very friendly to the Chinese," said another.

Other Balkan countries are also popular.

as One Belt projects are ramping up in Macedonia, Bulgaria and Bosnia. Chinese real estate platform Juwai.com adds that Vanuatu, Portugal, Ireland, Malta, Spain and Vanuatu are also enjoying success among Chinese investors.

Countries with 'golden visas' such as Greece and the US remain at the top of the list for Chinese investors. A golden visa is a type of permanent visa granted by a country to individuals who invest a certain amount of money, often through the purchase of real estate, in that country. The Chinese are the most active participants in these programs, says Juwai.com. John Petropoulos, a Sydney-based consultant and golden visa expert previously involved in real estate transactions for Chinese investors in Australia, says requests for Greece from these clients have increased tenfold since 2013. He is also receiving inquiries from relatives of Chinese Australians and lawyers from China.

"They are looking for a new status symbol that is no longer associated with Australia," he said.

"Due to capital transfer restrictions in China, $50,000 is barely enough to buy a deposit in Australia. Wealthy Chinese are now going en masse into golden visa programs around the world. In fact, there are only a handful of programs where Chinese are not the most numerous applicants," said Juwai.com CEO Carrie Law. Ms. Lowe said Chinese interest in Australian real estate would not disappear completely because of China's continued interest in other Australian exports. "It is common knowledge that Australia owes its prosperity to China. China is surging Australia's financial health on a wave of cash flow. Australia's top 3 exports are iron ore, coal and education. And who buys these products? China. Who are the largest investors in new buildings? China. Whose inexpensive products are making life easier for Australians? China," she said.