Batumi: the complete property guide

The Batumi property market on one screen

Batumi is Georgia's seaside city and its most international property market. More than half of the apartments sold there in 2025 went to foreign buyers, the airport handled a record 1.23 million passengers, and the skyline of residential towers along the coast keeps growing. It is also a market with a clear rhythm: a busy summer, a quiet winter, prices that have risen faster than holiday rents, and a large stock of apartments still for sale in projects under construction. Galt & Taggart's latest quarterly report, dated 14 August 2026, sums it up in two sentences: demand stayed solid in the second quarter of 2026, with sales up in both the primary and secondary markets, while unsold stock remains high and keeping up the current pace of price growth may be challenging. This guide explains what that means for a buyer: how the city is divided into zones, what each zone costs and earns, what sells, how the season works, what the climate does to apartments, and how to choose one that earns in summer and is still worth owning in January.

Two numbers frame every Batumi decision. Prices have risen from $1,618 per square metre in the second quarter of 2024 to $1,960 two years later, while the average nightly rate for a small apartment has slipped from $36.8 to $34.6. When prices rise and rents do not, the yield falls, and that is exactly what happened: from 8.8% in 2024 to 7.1% in June 2026. Batumi still yields more than most of the seaside cities Galt & Taggart compares it with, but the easy years of buying anything near the sea and letting it all summer are behind it.

How to choose an apartment in Batumi

Buyers who do well in Batumi decide what the apartment is for before they fall in love with a view. The order below keeps the view in its place.

1. Decide the use

   Summer letting, year-round letting, your own holidays, a residence permit, or a mix. Each use favours a different zone, building and size, and personal use in July costs you the best weeks of income.

2. Choose the zone

   Compare the zones below on price, rent, sales activity and the season, not on photographs. The same budget buys a small flat in Old Batumi or a much larger one in the inner areas.

3. Choose the building, not just the flat

   In a city of towers the building decides the experience: the developer, the completion status, the management company, the lifts, the generator, the security and the rules on short stays.

4. Check completion and the frame

   Confirm whether the building is finished and registered, and whether the apartment is delivered turnkey or as a frame that still needs fitting out.

5. Model a full year, not a summer

   Estimate income month by month, including the quiet months, and subtract management, cleaning, utilities, building charges and tax.

6. Plan the exit

   Ask who will buy this apartment from you, and how many similar units will be for sale in the same building or street when you do.

7. Run the legal check

   Not a lari or a dollar changes hands until your own lawyer has checked the title, the developer's land rights and permit, and the contract. The guide to buying property in Georgia sets out each step.

Batumi's zones: prices, sales and rents

Galt & Taggart divides Batumi into market zones and publishes prices for new turnkey apartments, sales and, where its data allow, average monthly rents for each. The table uses its report for the second quarter of 2026. Kobuleti, a separate resort town to the north, is included in the report for comparison.

Four readings stand out. First, the New Boulevard area is where the market is: 1,664 of the 4,168 apartments sold in the quarter, about two in five, at an average price close to the city's middle, and with the highest recorded average rent per square metre. Second, Old Batumi is a different product altogether, at almost twice the New Boulevard price and with prices up to $9,450 per square metre at the top of its range. Third, the price ranges inside each zone are wide; the zone average tells you the neighbourhood, not the building. Fourth, rent per square metre varies much less than price: Old Batumi rents for less per square metre than the New Boulevard area while costing far more to buy, which is why the most expensive zones rarely give the highest yields.

The zones, and who each suits

Each zone has its own guide in the list at the end of this page. The summaries below help you decide which ones to visit.

Old Batumi. The historic centre behind the port, with low-rise streets, cafés, the old boulevard and most of the city's character. The most expensive zone by a wide margin. Suits buyers who want walkable city life all year and short stays for visitors who prefer the old town; the higher price buys location and atmosphere rather than rental yield.

New Boulevard area. The long strip of modern towers along the coast south of the centre, where most of the city's sales and new construction take place. Suits investors who want a modern apartment for short stays at a mid-market price and a large pool of comparable units for resale. The trade-off is competition: many similar apartments in similar towers, so the building, the floor, the view and the management decide how a unit performs.

Alley of Heroes. A busy zone of new projects with nearly a thousand sales in the quarter and prices above the city's middle. Suits buyers looking for newer buildings; the same rule applies as on the New Boulevard: compare buildings, not just the zone.

Makhinjauri. North of the city, towards the botanical garden and Green Cape, with sea views and a quieter feel. Suits buyers who want a calmer base close to the city and do not need to walk to the old town.

Gonio and Kvariati. South of the airport towards the Turkish border, with a smaller, quieter coast and the mountains close behind. Prices are above the city's middle and sales are few. Suits buyers who want a holiday home on a calmer stretch of coast and accept a smaller resale market.

Inner and peripheral areas. The streets away from the seafront, with the lowest average prices in the city and rents of about $10.6 per square metre. Suits buyers who want a long let to local tenants, a lower entry price, or more space for the money. The trade-off is a weaker draw for summer visitors.

What sells in Batumi: small, midscale, and increasingly upscale

Batumi's buyers want different apartments from Tbilisi's. Galt & Taggart's data for the first half of 2025 show the pattern clearly.

Six apartments in ten sold in Batumi were small, between 35 and 50 square metres, which reflects a market built around holiday lets and holiday homes. The market is also moving up: the budget segment's share fell from 54.2% in the first half of 2023 to 42.1% two years later, while midscale became the largest group. For a buyer the lesson is simple. A small, well-located apartment in a good building sits where most of the market is, which keeps resale realistic. A large apartment appeals to only a few percent of buyers, so buy one for your own use rather than counting on an easy exit.

The season: how a Batumi year works

Seasonality is the defining fact of the Batumi market. Most visitors come in the summer months: the airport's busiest month on record was August 2025, with 213,636 passengers, according to TAV Georgia as reported by First Channel. A short-stay apartment in Batumi therefore earns most of its year in a few months and needs a plan for the rest.

Three practical consequences follow. First, model income by month, not by "average occupancy": a strong July and August cannot carry the whole year if the apartment is empty from November to April. Second, plan the low season deliberately: a long let to a local tenant or a student from autumn to late spring, reduced nightly rates for winter visitors, or your own use. Third, keep the costs that run all year in view: building charges, utilities, heating or dehumidifying, internet and insurance do not stop when the guests do.

Winter is also when buyers visit least and sellers are most willing to talk. Seeing a building and a street in January tells you more about year-round life than any summer viewing: which windows are lit, whether the shops are open, and how the building copes with rain and wind.

Climate, humidity and what they do to apartments

Batumi has a humid subtropical climate. The Adjara tourism department reports about 2,560 millimetres of precipitation a year, average humidity of 70 to 80 percent, an average of +7.1°C in January and +23.2°C in August. Mild winters make the city pleasant all year; the rain and humidity make it demanding for buildings and apartments.

For an owner, humidity is the practical issue. An apartment that stands closed and unheated through a wet winter can develop condensation and mould, especially on north-facing walls, in bathrooms without ventilation, and behind furniture against outside walls. The answers are ordinary but need planning: good ventilation, a dehumidifier or an air conditioner with a drying mode, regular airing by whoever looks after the apartment, and checking the windows and facade for leaks before buying. A separate guide on humidity and mould is in the list below.

When viewing, look for the signs: stains around window frames, peeling paint on outside walls, a musty smell in closed rooms, and damp in the building's common areas. Ask the management company how the facade and roof are maintained, and ask the owners who live there all year.

Who buys in Batumi

Galt & Taggart's developer survey found that foreign buyers accounted for 52% of apartment sales in Batumi in 2025. Among them, Israeli and European buyers each made up 13% of total sales, buyers from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus 11%, and Turkish and Central Asian buyers 3% each. The survey covers developers with more than 30 ongoing projects, about 40% of the primary market.

That mix is Batumi's strength and its risk. A broad international buyer base means demand from several regions at once, which cushions the market when one source country slows. It also means that resale depends on foreign interest continuing, and that a change in travel, currency or politics in a large source market can be felt quickly. For a buyer, the practical rule is to buy something that both a foreign holiday buyer and a local family could want: a sensible layout, a good building and documents in order.

Supply: the large pipeline

Galt & Taggart describes Batumi's unsold stock as high, pointing to oversupply pressure, and notes that primary market demand, though growing, remains well below the boom years of 2022 and 2023. Its survey of developers showed primary sales up 35.1% in the second quarter of 2026 and 47.9% in the first half, a recovery from a lower base. Construction costs keep rising, by 7.2% in the year to June 2026 according to Geostat's index, which supports developers' asking prices.

The combination of a large pipeline, rising costs and falling holiday yields has a clear implication. New apartments will keep coming to the market for years, so an apartment's ability to compete, through its building, floor, view, management and price, matters more than the city's average performance. Off-plan purchases carry both the usual construction risk and the risk of reselling against the developer's own remaining stock. The New builds section explains how to check a developer and a project.

Prices: how to read them

The average price of a new turnkey apartment in Batumi reached $1,960 per square metre in June 2026, up 9.8% in a year, while the secondary market averaged $1,497, up 6.5%. Galt & Taggart notes the wide gap between the two markets. Part of the gap is the product: turnkey new apartments include finishing and are often in the newest towers, while the secondary market includes older stock. Part of it is the price of novelty, which disappears once the apartment is no longer new.

For a buyer, three rules help. Compare turnkey with turnkey and frame with frame. Compare within the building first: the price range inside each zone is wider than the difference between many zones. And look at the secondary market as well as new projects: a resale apartment in a completed, well-run building can cost less than a new one and starts earning at once. The 2025 annual figures, $1,865 per square metre for turnkey apartments and a forecast of four to six percent annual price growth, are on the investment guide.

Renting out in Batumi

Short stays drive the Batumi rental market. Galt & Taggart tracks the average daily rate for small apartments of up to two bedrooms, using Airdna data: $34.6 in the second quarter of 2026, down 4.2% on a year earlier. Even so, the city's gross yield of 7.1% in June 2026 compares well with other seaside markets in the same comparison: Thessaloniki 3.7%, Dubrovnik 4.2%, Budva 4.4%, Varna 4.9%, Porto 5.3%, Alanya 6.4%, Nicosia 6.8%, Antalya 6.9% and Limassol 7.0%, with only Dubai higher at 8.5%.

Long lets exist as well, especially in the inner and peripheral areas, where Galt & Taggart records average monthly rents of about $10.6 per square metre, and in Old Batumi and the New Boulevard area at $11.9 and $12.3. A seasonal mix, summer short stays and a winter long let, is common; the contract for the long let must end before the season, or the tenancy can become indefinite under the Civil Code. The legal rules for letting, the deposit cap and the notice periods are in the guide to renting out an apartment.

Many Batumi projects are sold with a rental programme run by the developer or a hotel operator. Read such a programme as a contract, not a brochure: who sets the prices, how income and costs are shared, what the operator charges, how often you may use the apartment, how long you are bound, and what happens if the operator leaves. For the details, see our guide to aparthotel units and our comparison of a hotel unit with an ordinary flat.

Reading a rental programme: eight questions

A rental programme can be a convenient way to own a holiday apartment from abroad, or an expensive way to receive little income. The difference is in the contract, and these questions bring it out.

1. Who operates the programme, and what happens to your apartment if the operator changes or leaves?
2. How is income calculated: your own apartment's bookings, or a share of a pool of apartments?
3. Which costs come out before you are paid: the operator's fee, cleaning, linen, utilities, platform commissions, repairs, furniture replacement?
4. How often, and when, may you use the apartment yourself, and does that use reduce your share?
5. How long are you bound, and what does it cost to leave the programme early?
6. Are you shown monthly statements with bookings, rates and receipts, and may you check them?
7. Is any income figure in the brochure written into the contract, and if so, who pays the difference if it is not reached?
8. If you sell, does the programme transfer to the buyer, and does that help or hinder the sale?

A programme that answers all eight clearly, in the contract rather than in conversation, deserves consideration. One that answers them vaguely is a marketing promise attached to an apartment.

Market momentum in 2026

The first half of 2026 was busier than the first half of 2025. Galt & Taggart counts 8.2 thousand apartment sales in Batumi in the first half of the year, against 7.5 thousand a year earlier and 7.0 thousand in 2024, and puts the value of the market in the half-year at $651 million, against $534 million and $470 million. Secondary market sales, which Galt & Taggart considers the best real-time signal because they are registered promptly, rose 13.4% in the second quarter and 11.4% in the half-year. Its survey of developers shows primary sales up 47.9% in the first half.

The same report balances the picture: primary demand remains well below the boom of 2022 and 2023, unsold stock remains high, and the yield is slowly declining. In other words, 2026 has brought more buyers and higher prices, but not less competition. For a buyer, a rising market is a reason to negotiate carefully rather than quickly: when many new apartments are for sale, the buyer, not the seller, decides which ones are worth their price.

Kobuleti and the coast nearby

Galt & Taggart includes Kobuleti, the resort town north of Batumi, in its report for comparison. In the second quarter of 2026 it recorded 167 sales there at an average turnkey price of $1,731 per square metre, up 9.3% in a year, with a range from $1,100 to $4,150. Kobuleti is a separate, quieter market built around summer holidays, and many buyers compare it with Batumi's outer zones. It is covered in the guide to Georgia's resorts in the Places section.

Getting there and getting around

Batumi International Airport, operated by TAV, lies about two kilometres south of the city. It handled 1,230,200 passengers in 2025, up from 951,766 in 2024 and 621,514 in 2023, according to Civil Aviation Agency data. The growth matters to owners: more direct flights mean more potential guests, especially outside the peak summer weeks.

Within the city, the zones along the coast are connected by the main avenues and the seafront, and much of central Batumi is walkable. Zones further out, such as Makhinjauri to the north and Gonio and Kvariati to the south, rely on cars, taxis and buses. When choosing, check how guests or tenants will reach the beach, the shops and the old town without a car.

Batumi or Tbilisi?

Note that the two price figures are not directly comparable: Batumi's is for turnkey apartments and Tbilisi's for white frame. The broader point stands. Tbilisi is the steadier, local, long-let market; Batumi is the seaside, international, seasonal one. The Tbilisi guide covers the capital in the same detail.

What it costs to own an apartment in Batumi

• The building. A monthly contribution to the management company or owners association; in towers with pools, gyms, concierge and generators it is higher than in an ordinary block. Ask for the amount and what it covers before you buy.
• Utilities all year. On short stays the owner pays electricity, water, gas and internet, including in the empty months; dehumidifying or heating in winter adds to the bill.
• Furnishing and wear. Short-stay apartments are furnished to a hotel standard and wear faster; budget for replacements.
• Management and cleaning. A manager's fee and cleaning between stays, or a rental programme's share of income.
• Tax. A home let for living in pays tax of 5% on its rent (Tax Code, Article 81(2)); how short stays are treated from 2026 is still being confirmed, as explained in the guide to money and taxes.

Three buyers, three choices

The summer letting investor. A buyer from abroad wants an apartment that earns in summer and is managed for them. They choose a small turnkey apartment in a completed tower in the New Boulevard area, where most of the market is, with a management company that handles bookings, cleaning and winter care. They model the year month by month and accept that the winter brings little income.

The family holiday home. A family wants a place to spend July and a few weeks in spring and autumn, and to let it the rest of the time. They choose a two-room apartment in Makhinjauri or towards Gonio, with a view and a calmer street, accept a lower income because they use the best weeks themselves, and prioritise a building with a good record on maintenance and humidity.

The year-round resident. A buyer moving to Georgia wants a city to live in all year. They choose an apartment in or near Old Batumi, where life continues in winter, check that the building copes with humidity, and consider the residence permit route if the property's appraised value exceeds $150,000. The residence permit guide explains the conditions.

Ten questions for a Batumi viewing

1. Is the building completed and registered, and who manages it?
2. What does the building charge each month, and what does it include?
3. Do the building's rules allow short stays?
4. How many similar apartments are for sale or for rent in the same tower?
5. What did comparable apartments in this building earn last year, month by month?
6. Are there signs of damp, condensation or leaks in the apartment or common areas?
7. Is there a generator for the lifts and water pumps?
8. How far is the beach, and how do guests reach it?
9. What is being built in front of the view?
10. What does the Public Registry extract show, and does it match the developer's documents?

Batumi: the detailed guides

Risks and exceptions

• Buying on summer figures. An apartment that earns in July and August can stand empty from November to April.
• Falling yields. Prices have risen faster than nightly rates; the gross yield fell from 8.8% in 2024 to 7.1% in June 2026.
• Oversupply. Unsold stock is high and new towers keep coming; identical units compete on price.
• Humidity. A closed, unheated apartment in a wet winter can develop damp and mould.
• Rental programme fine print. Fees, usage limits and long lock-in periods can turn a promised income into a modest one.
• Dependence on foreign demand. More than half of buyers are foreign; a change in one source market is felt quickly.
• Off-plan resale. Reselling an unfinished apartment means competing with the developer's own stock.
• "Guaranteed" rental income. Treat any "guaranteed" yield or buy-back as a sales line, not a protection.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an apartment cost in Batumi?

New turnkey apartments averaged $1,960 per square metre in June 2026 and the secondary market $1,497, according to Galt & Taggart. Zone averages range from $1,672 in the inner areas to $3,239 in Old Batumi.

What rental yield does Batumi offer?

Galt & Taggart puts the gross yield at 7.1% in June 2026, down from 8.8% in 2024 because prices rose faster than nightly rates. Net yield after costs and tax is lower.

Which zone sells the most?

The New Boulevard area, with 1,664 of the 4,168 apartments sold in the second quarter of 2026, followed by the Alley of Heroes with 979.

Who buys in Batumi?

Foreign buyers made 52% of sales in 2025, according to Galt & Taggart's developer survey. Israeli and European buyers were 13% each, and buyers from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus 11%.

Is Batumi only a summer market?

Most visitors come in summer, so short-stay income is seasonal. Long lets, winter rates and personal use fill the rest of the year, and the city itself is lived in all year.

Does humidity affect apartments?

Yes. Batumi receives about 2,560 millimetres of rain a year with average humidity of 70 to 80 percent. Ventilation, dehumidifying and regular airing prevent damp and mould.

Should I buy new or resale?

New turnkey apartments cost more than resale ones, and the gap is wide. A resale apartment in a completed, well-managed building can cost less and start earning at once.

Can buying in Batumi give me residence?

It can. Since 1 March 2026, owning non-agricultural property in Georgia appraised at more than $150,000, in Batumi or anywhere else, is a ground for the short-term residence permit, which lasts only as long as the ownership.

Sources

1. Batumi Residential Real Estate, Quarterly Market Watch, 2Q26, 14 August 2026, Galt & Taggart (accessed 12 October 2026)
2. Sector snapshot: Batumi residential real estate, Investor.ge, 20 April 2026, citing Galt & Taggart (accessed 12 October 2026)
3. Batumi residential real estate market grows 15% in 2025, Galt & Taggart via GBC (accessed 10 October 2026)
4. Inbound tourism statistics, 2025, National Statistics Office of Georgia (accessed 12 October 2026)
5. Number of population as of 1 January 2026, National Statistics Office of Georgia (accessed 12 October 2026)
6. Batumi International Airport, passenger statistics citing the Civil Aviation Agency, Wikipedia (accessed 12 October 2026)
7. German tourist becomes Batumi Airport's one-millionth passenger, First Channel, citing TAV Georgia (accessed 12 October 2026)
8. Climate and weather in Ajara, Department of Tourism and Resorts of Adjara (accessed 12 October 2026)
9. Tbilisi Residential Real Estate, Monthly Market Watch, 30 January 2026, Galt & Taggart (accessed 12 October 2026)
10. Tax Code of Georgia (Article 81), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 12 October 2026)
11. Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, consolidated 25 June 2026, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 11 October 2026)

Change log

• 12 October 2026 - Complete guide published from Galt & Taggart's 2Q 2026 Batumi report (14 August 2026), Geostat, Civil Aviation Agency data and the Adjara tourism department.