House or apartment: which suits a foreign buyer?
Most foreigners who buy in Georgia buy apartments, and the market is built around them. In Tbilisi alone, more than 42,000 apartments changed hands in 2025, most of them in new buildings, while houses are a smaller and less transparent market. A house offers space, a garden and independence from neighbours. It also brings questions an apartment rarely raises: the category of the land, the condition of the roof and the walls, heating for a whole building, security when you are away, and a smaller pool of buyers when you sell.
This comparison sets out what changes between the two for a foreign owner, including the legal point that rules out many houses before anything else is considered.
The first check for any house: the land
An apartment comes with a share in the land of its building, which is not agricultural. A house comes with its own plot, and that plot may be registered as homestead land, which Georgian law treats as agricultural. A foreigner cannot buy agricultural land, so a house on homestead land cannot be bought with its land unless the seller first changes the land's category. Read the extract of the land before anything else; our guide to land for foreigners explains the rules and the cost of a change of category.
Side by side
| Question | Apartment | House |
|---|---|---|
| Can a foreigner buy it? | Yes | Yes, if the land is non-agricultural |
| Residence permit | Yes, if valued above $150,000 | Yes, same rule, land included if non-agricultural |
| Market size and resale | Large, liquid market | Smaller pool of buyers |
| Upkeep | Shared costs through the building | Roof, walls, garden, fences all yours |
| Heating and utilities | For one flat | For a whole building, often a larger boiler |
| Security when away | Neighbours and a shared entrance | Needs arrangements |
| Annual land tax | Usually not a separate item for an apartment owner | GEL 0.24 per m² of non-agricultural land before coefficients |
| Letting | Short and long stays both common | Holiday lets in resort areas; long lets to families |
To be added by the team: the partner accountant to confirm how land tax is assessed for an apartment owner's share in a building's land, and the territorial coefficients for the main districts of Tbilisi and Batumi.
Where foreigners look for houses
Houses bought by foreigners tend to cluster in a few kinds of places: the green suburbs on the hills above Tbilisi, the hillsides above the sea north of Batumi, the mountain resorts, where chalets and small houses are common, and wine villages in Kakheti for those who want a rural life. Each brings its own checks. Near the cities the question is usually the land's category and the road; in the mountains, winter access, snow load and whether the area is a special regulation territory; in villages, the homestead category almost by default. Wherever you look, the extract comes before the viewing.
A land tax example
Land tax on non-agricultural land starts at GEL 0.24 per square metre a year, and municipalities may apply a coefficient of up to 150%. A house on a 600 m² plot therefore pays between about GEL 144 and GEL 216 a year in land tax, depending on its zone, on top of any property tax on the building. For an apartment, this item is usually negligible. The amounts are small next to the other costs of a house, but they are due every year and, unlike the tax on the building, they are owed even when family income is below the exemption threshold.
When an apartment is the better choice
- You will spend part of the year abroad and want the flat looked after by the building.
- You plan to let it, especially for short stays in Tbilisi or Batumi.
- You want to sell easily later.
- You want a residence permit with the simplest possible file.
When a house is the better choice
- You will live in Georgia most of the year and want space and a garden.
- You have found a house on land already registered as non-agricultural.
- You are ready to manage repairs, heating and security yourself or through someone you trust.
- You buy in an area where houses are the norm, such as the hills around a resort.
Extra checks before buying a house
Questions to ask the seller of a house
- What category is the land registered in, and has it ever been changed?
- Is every part of the house, including later extensions, registered and permitted?
- When were the roof, the boiler and the wiring last renewed?
- How is the house heated, and what did heating cost last winter?
- Where do the water and sewage come from and go to?
- Who uses the road to the house, and is the right of way registered?
- Are there any disputes with neighbours about boundaries or access?
Ask for the answers in writing, and compare them with the extract, the cadastral plan and what the builder finds on site. A seller who cannot answer the first two questions clearly is giving you a reason to look further.
New-build apartment or older house?
For many buyers the real choice is between a new apartment in a large building and an older house with character. A new building comes with a developer, a commissioning act, and the risks of off-plan buying if it is not finished; an older house comes with the history of its repairs and any changes made without permits. The checks differ, and so does the professional help: a developer and contract check for the first, a builder and a lawyer on the land for the second. Our guide to new build or resale covers the apartment side.
Letting a house
A house can be let, but the market is different from apartments. In Tbilisi, long lets of houses go mainly to families and diplomats who want space and a garden, and the pool of tenants is smaller. In resort areas, houses and chalets let well for holidays in season and poorly out of it. Rent from a home let for living is taxed at 5% whether it is a house or a flat. Before buying a house as an investment, compare its likely rent with that of two or three apartments for the same money.
Buying a house from abroad
A house is harder to judge remotely than an apartment. Video can show rooms, but not the roof, the damp in a cellar or the state of the road after rain. If you cannot be there, send a builder to inspect it and a lawyer to read the extract of both the land and the building, and ask for a second video call at a different time of day. Our video viewing checklist includes extra points for older buildings.
Running costs to compare
For an apartment, the building's shared costs, utilities and, if your family income exceeds the threshold, property tax at a small percentage of market value. For a house, the same property tax on the building, land tax on the plot, which is due even when the house itself is exempt, larger heating bills for a whole building, and maintenance of the roof, facade, garden and fences. Over ten years, upkeep is often what separates the two more than the purchase price.
Risks and exceptions
- Homestead land. It rules out the house for a foreign buyer until the category is changed.
- Unregistered extensions. They complicate the sale and later the resale.
- A smaller resale market. Selling a house can take longer.
- Winter access. Mountain and hillside houses can be hard to reach after snow.
- Upkeep from abroad. A house left empty needs someone to check it.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreigner buy a house in Georgia?
Yes, if the land under it is non-agricultural; homestead land counts as agricultural.
Does a house support a residence permit?
Yes, on the same rule as an apartment: in your name, non-agricultural, valued above $150,000.
Which is easier to sell later?
Usually an apartment, because the market for apartments is far larger.
Is there tax on the land of a house?
Yes, land tax on non-agricultural land, due even in years when the house is exempt from property tax.
Is it harder to get a mortgage on a house?
Banks lend against registered property, so a house with clean, non-agricultural land and a registered building is the starting point; ask the bank before you commit.
Are houses cheaper per square metre than apartments?
It varies too much by area and condition to generalise; compare the price per square metre of the house and the cost of its land, repairs and running costs with apartments nearby.
Should I have a house inspected?
Yes. A builder's inspection of the roof, walls, foundations and systems is worth its cost on any house, especially an older one.
Can I buy a house and change the land category myself?
No. A foreigner cannot own the plot while it is agricultural, so the seller must change it before the sale.
Sources
- Organic Law of Georgia on Agricultural Land Ownership (Article 3), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 14 October 2026)
- Tax Code of Georgia (Articles 202-206), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 14 October 2026)
- Georgia: other taxes (land tax), PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries (accessed 14 October 2026)
- Galt & Taggart: apartment sales and prices in Tbilisi, 2025, GBC, 22 January 2026 (accessed 14 October 2026)
Change log
- - Comparison published from the Organic Law on Agricultural Land Ownership, the Tax Code, PwC and Galt & Taggart data.