How many property buyers in Georgia are foreigners?
About one in ten in Tbilisi and about half in Batumi. Colliers Georgia, which tracks all registered flat sales, put foreign buyers at 10% to 14% of Tbilisi transactions each month between May and August 2026, and at 48% to 52% in Batumi, where foreigners outnumbered Georgians in August 2026 for the first time in its review. Among foreign buyers, Israeli citizens have grown fastest since 2023; Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian buyers remain a large group in Batumi. Official counts of purchases by nationality were last published for 2022 and 2023.
This page brings the figures together, explains why different sources give different shares, and sets out what the buyer mix means for prices, rents and resale. The legal framework for foreign owners is in our guide to property law in Georgia for foreigners.
Three kinds of figure, three different answers
- All registered sales (Colliers). Counts every flat sale recorded in the Public Registry, new and resale, by the buyer's citizenship. This gives the broadest picture.
- Developer surveys (Galt & Taggart). Covers sales by the developers in its sample only: in Tbilisi more than 100 projects, about half the new-build market. Foreign buyers concentrate on new flats, so their share here is higher than in all sales.
- Official counts (Ministry of Justice). Numbers of flats bought by each nationality, released in answers to parliamentary questions in 2023. No later counts have been published.
Because the bases differ, a 10% foreign share in all Tbilisi sales and a 26% foreign share in surveyed developer sales can both be right. Quote a figure with its source and sample.
Tbilisi: a local market with a growing Israeli share
| Citizenship | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | January-July 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 85% | 79% | 76% | 74% |
| Israel | 4% | 10% | 10% | 11% |
| Russia | 5% | 2% | 3% | 4% |
| Other | 6% | 9% | 11% | 11% |
Across all registered sales the foreign share is lower: Colliers counted 11.4% in May 2026, 10% in June, 12% in July and 14% in August. Foreign buyers mostly buy new: in 2025, 86% of foreigners' purchases in Tbilisi were in new projects, according to Colliers. For the resale market, this means the buyers of an older Tbilisi flat are overwhelmingly local.
Batumi: half the market is international
| Citizenship | 2024 | 2025 | January-June 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 31% | 43% | 33% |
| Ukraine, Russia, Belarus | 16% | 13% | 18% |
| Europe | 19% | 15% | 15% |
| Israel | 12% | 13% | 10% |
| Arab countries | 5% | 4% | 7% |
| Turkey | 6% | 4% | 5% |
| Others | 11% | 9% | 12% |
An earlier, smaller Galt & Taggart survey of eight developers showed the Georgian share in Batumi falling every year from 35% in 2020 to 16% in 2024, which is where agency claims of "84% foreign buyers" come from; the larger 2026 sample puts 2024 at 31%. Across all registered Batumi sales, Colliers counted foreigners at 49% in May 2026, 48% in July and 52% in August. Batumi's buyers come from more countries than Tbilisi's, and the published statistics group Ukraine, Russia and Belarus together, so changes within that group cannot be seen.
How Batumi's buyer mix changed, 2020-2024
| Citizenship | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 35% | 26% | 25% | 21% | 16% |
| Russia | 17% | 20% | 26% | 20% | 18% |
| Israel | 8% | 7% | 10% | 7% | 10% |
| Other | 41% | 47% | 40% | 52% | 57% |
This older series shows the direction of change in the projects it covers: Russian buyers peaked in 2022, Israeli buyers rose again in 2024, and a widening group of other nationalities took the largest share. The same report found that developers' sales in the survey fell 42.7% in 2024, mainly because local and Russian buyers bought less. Its sample is much smaller than the 2026 survey above, so the two series should be read side by side rather than joined.
The 2022 wave and what followed
The war in Ukraine brought a sudden change in 2022. Georgia recorded 179,778 immigrants that year, more than twice as many as a year earlier, and only 30.3% of them were Georgian citizens; most of the rest came from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Net migration was +54,509 in 2022, then -39,207 in 2023 as many left again, +14,386 in 2024 and +17,127 in 2025. A National Bank survey of the development sector, cited by the research institute IDFI, found the Russian share of flat purchases rising between January and November 2022 from 0.9% to 5% in Tbilisi and from 5% to 17.6% in Batumi.
For property, the lesson is that a single event can move both rents and the buyer mix within months, and that part of the effect reverses as people move on. Rents in Tbilisi rose sharply in 2022 and have since settled; the buyer shares in the tables above show Russian demand well below its 2022 level in Tbilisi and Israeli demand taking its place.
The last official counts: 2022 and 2023
| Nationality | 2022 | January-March 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Russia | 6,062 | 2,187 |
| Israel | 1,892 | 671 |
| Ukraine | 1,321 | 520 |
| Turkey | 473 | 143 |
| Belarus | 446 | 164 |
| Germany | 424 | 112 |
| All foreign citizens | 14,875 | 5,159 |
The 2022 figure, about a fifth of all residential sales, reflects the arrival of people from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus after the war began. The Russian total includes people who also hold Georgian citizenship; Russian citizens alone bought 5,424 flats in 2022, and between January and November 2023 the figure was reported at about 5,780, already more than in all of 2022. A different Public Registry figure cited by a research institute counts registrations in another way and should not be compared with these. No comparable nationality counts have been published since 2023.
Where the buyers come from
- Israel. The fastest-growing group in both cities. Israel was Georgia's fourth-largest source of visitors in 2025, with 402,426 visits, 29.4% more than in 2024.
- Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The 2022 wave of arrivals lifted purchases and rents; more than $2 billion was transferred from Russia to Georgia in 2022, according to the National Bank. In 2025, 20,139 Russian citizens arrived and 19,226 left, a net gain of 913.
- Europe, Turkey and the Gulf. Significant in Batumi, where European buyers made up 15% of surveyed sales in the first half of 2026 and buyers from Arab countries 7%.
- Earlier waves. Between 2015 and mid-2019, foreigners bought about 7% of flats sold in Tbilisi, and Iranian citizens were the largest foreign group, according to TBC research at the time. Source markets change with politics and visas.
Foreign money in property
There is no official statistic for how much foreign individuals spend on Georgian homes. Geostat's foreign direct investment figures include a "real estate activities" line, USD 254.7 million in 2025 or 13.4% of all FDI, but that measures investment by companies in the sector, not flats bought by foreign households. Bank lending to non-residents is small: GBC reported that in December 2025 non-residents took about 220 mortgages in foreign currency and 55 in lari.
The rules that shape foreign demand
- Equal terms, with one exception. Foreigners can buy flats, houses and non-agricultural land on the same terms as citizens; agricultural land is restricted.
- Residence permit. Since 1 March 2026 a property worth more than $150,000 can support a short-term residence permit, up from $100,000.
- Proposals that did not pass. In 2023 opposition MPs proposed a temporary ban on property purchases by Russian citizens without a residence permit; we found no record of it being adopted.
Our page on the $150,000 property route explains the residence rules.
What the buyer mix means for an investor
- Tbilisi resale is local. About nine in ten buyers are Georgian, so buy what local families want if you plan to sell.
- Batumi depends on travel and politics. Half the demand is international, so a shock in one source country is felt quickly, and the spread across many countries is the cushion.
- New-build pricing follows foreign demand. Foreign buyers concentrate on new projects, which supports developers' prices more than resale prices.
- Watch the trend, not one month. Monthly shares move by several points; quarterly and annual figures are more reliable.
Risks and exceptions
- Data gaps. No official nationality counts since 2023.
- Source dependence. Batumi demand rests on a few foreign markets.
- Policy changes. Residence and purchase rules can change foreign demand.
- Mixed samples. Survey and registry figures are not comparable.
- Narrow exit. A flat aimed only at foreign buyers has fewer buyers at resale.
Frequently asked questions
What share of Tbilisi buyers are foreign?
10% to 14% of all registered sales in May-August 2026, according to Colliers.
What share of Batumi buyers are foreign?
About half: 48% to 52% in mid-2026, according to Colliers.
Which nationality buys most?
In surveyed Tbilisi projects, Israeli citizens (11% in January-July 2026); in Batumi, buyers from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus together (18% in January-June 2026).
How many flats did foreigners buy in 2022?
14,875, according to the Ministry of Justice, about a fifth of residential sales.
Is there newer official data by nationality?
No; the last published counts cover 2022 and 2023.
Can foreigners buy property in Georgia?
Yes, on the same terms as citizens, except agricultural land.
Do foreigners buy new or old flats?
Mostly new: 86% of their Tbilisi purchases in 2025 were in new projects.
Why do sources give different shares?
Some count all registered sales, others only surveyed developers' sales.
Sources
- Foreign buyers' share of Tbilisi apartment market rises to 14% (Colliers), BM.ge, 22 September 2026 (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Foreign buyers drive half of Batumi housing demand (Colliers), BM.ge, 16 June 2026 (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Foreign buyers 10% of Tbilisi purchases in June (Colliers), BM.ge, 22 July 2026 (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Record year for Georgia's real estate market (Colliers data), GBC, February 2026 (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Tbilisi Residential Real Estate, July 2026, Galt & Taggart (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Batumi Residential Real Estate, 2Q26 Overview, Galt & Taggart (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Batumi Residential Real Estate, 2024 Full Year Overview, Galt & Taggart (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Russian nationals purchased 10,000 apartments in the last 16 months, FactCheck Georgia, 15 May 2023 (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Russians lead among foreign property buyers in Georgia (Ministry of Justice data), Homesoverseas, 14 April 2023 (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Russian citizens elevate real estate purchases in Georgia, Frontnews, 5 December 2023 (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Russian capital and Russian connections in Georgian business, IDFI, 2023 (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Migration in 2022 (Geostat data), Civil.ge, 28 April 2023 (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Two myths about foreign ownership of real estate in Georgia, Myth Detector, 16 January 2020 (accessed 19 October 2026)
- International visits to Georgia in 2025 (GNTA data), Civil.ge, 18 January 2026 (accessed 19 October 2026)
- More than $2 billion transferred from Russia to Georgia in 2022, RFE/RL, 17 January 2023 (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Georgia posts positive migration balance in 2025 (Geostat data), Georgia Today, 24 April 2026 (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Foreign direct investment in 2025 (adjusted), Geostat (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Mortgage issuances to non-residents have increased, GBC, February 2026 (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Opposition MPs propose temporary ban on property purchases by Russian citizens, Interpressnews, 10 May 2023 (accessed 19 October 2026)
- Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons (Article 15), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 19 October 2026)
Change log
- - Data page published from Colliers and Galt & Taggart buyer data, Ministry of Justice counts for 2022-2023, GNTA, Geostat and the National Bank.