Owning your own home might be the dream of most Chinese, but some set their sights even further - financially and geographically - by buying property overseas.

Clement Duhamel, China representative of French property consultancy firm Oscar France, told Metro Beijing Chinese investors have been increasingly looking to France to snap up prized real estate.

The price barrier means it isn't for everybody. But for about 5 million euros ($6.5 million), individuals and businesses can have their own château - a regal investment that a Hong Kong company seeking a castle-turned-clubhouse recently considered with the help of Duhamel.

However, France isn't the only country Chinese investors are flocking to buy property. The 2012 Beijing International Property Autumn Expo, which concluded last month in Guomao in the capital's CBD, featured about 40 Beijing housing projects compared to more than 140 projects from 30 countries.

Reasons for buying abroad 

According to the 2012 Hurun Wealth Report by the namesake magazine known for compiling its "China's Rich List," one-third of Chinese millionaires have assets overseas and 85 percent plan to send their children abroad for education.

Wei Kefei, director of the expo's international department, said the goal of giving their children an overseas education often results in Chinese parents buying property abroad to provide a more stable life.

"Chinese people traditionally put more emphasis on their children's education. As the group studying abroad grows larger, some families might consider buying a house right away," he told Metro Beijing.

Liu Zhiyong, a Beijing resident, falls into this category. He bought a house in August near Miami in the southern US state of Florida. Liu felt it was a necessary step to take to help his son, a PhD student at the University of Florida.

"I'm not looking to invest," he told Metro Beijing. "My son is attending school there, so it was either buy a house or rent one."

Wei said other reasons Chinese buy houses abroad include providing security in old age, smoothing the transition of immigration and bolstering the value of their assets. He said people often consider the quality of local life, food safety and government benefits when making the decision to buy abroad. Beijing's overheated property market makes the prospect even more appealing, Wei stated. 

"There's a high threshold for investing. Some people have the money but may not be qualified to buy a house, which is why their search for real estate investments turn overseas," he said.

Duhamel told Metro Beijing that most of his clients have links to France, either through a child studying there or business opportunities. Generally, however, most investments are in holiday houses used by their Chinese owners once or twice a year, he noted.

"[Chinese investors] don't want to buy beautiful houses. They don't care, they just want to invest their money abroad," he said. "I see that with the clients. I sometimes meet with them for an hour, but they don't look at a single offer. They just look at how to send money abroad and ask which papers to sign."

Investing abroad is a wise choice for many reasons, Duhamel said. France, he insists, beckons with its stable property market where prices don't fluctuate too drastically, unlike other countries such as the US and the UK.

Needs of the nouveau riche

Duhamel, a graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, noted the boom of Chinese buying properties overseas took off in 2009. He had read articles online and personally met Beijing residents who were buying houses in countries such as the US, Australia and Singapore. After a few years of research and preparation, he and his uncle founded Oscar France in 2011 to sell properties on behalf of French real estate agencies.

The firm mediates the sales of everything from apartments for students in central Paris to countryside châteaus, vineyards and mountainside cabins in Lyon. While many of these estates might be out of the league of most Chinese homebuyers, they sell well nonetheless. "All our clients without exception are millionaires in terms of euros. Generally, they want to invest at least 1 million euros in France," Duhamel said.

The 2012 Hurun Wealth Report found Beijing is China's wealthiest city. The report added the capital was home to 830 Chinese billionaires and a further 179,000 millionaires.

But China's wealth isn't confined to Beijing. Oscar France hosts housing expos in second-tier cities such as Tianjin and Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.

Liu Ting, marketing manager of Beijing-based immigration and investment consultancy firm Bailinuo, said investing in property in Cyprus has become been particularly popular this year among Chinese investors.

Cyprus' housing projects also stole the spotlight at this year's Beijing International Property Autumn Expo, driven in demand due to their relative affordability within Europe. For 300,000 euros, an investor can buy a house in Cyprus and be eligible for permanent residency, Liu Ting said.

Her clients mostly have businesses in Cyprus, but many also buy property on the Mediterranean island to pursue their greater goal of immigrating to Europe.

Minding market traps

However, there are pitfalls when it comes to investing in overseas real estate.

Being a permanent resident of Cyprus through property investment doesn't guarantee immigration to the country, according to Tang Chunlin, a lawyer from Beijing Yinke law firm.

"It's basically impossible to immigrate to Cyprus by buying a house alone," he told Metro Beijing.

Tang explained the government of Cyprus, a country with a population of just over 1 million people spanning an area almost half the size of Beijing, is wary of the impact immigration might have on local businesses. Investors eyeing immigration are required to fork out more than 10 million euros, Tang added.

Most Chinese investors who buy houses in Cyprus do so primarily to receive permanent residency - seen as a springboard into visa-free life in the European Union.

Liu said her company offers analysis to every client and advises investors to figure out what they want first.

"Our high-end clients might not care about investing 300,000 euros, but if they are working class homeowners who need to sell their houses in Beijing for the purpose of attaining permanent residency in Cyprus, then it's not worth it," she said.

Wei agreed that investing overseas can be financially risky. His advice is to seek professional help to make an informed decision.

"You are spending your own money, so don't be aimless. Try to understand the market. It's limiting to make the decision on your own," he said.