Tbilisi and Batumi on one table
The two cities are often presented as rival options for the same money, but the data describe two different businesses. The table puts the latest figures side by side; each row names its period, because the two markets are reported on different calendars.
| Criterion | Tbilisi | Batumi |
|---|---|---|
| Apartments sold in 2025 | 42,388 | 17,478 |
| New-build price | $1,398 per m², white frame (February 2026) | $1,960 per m², turnkey (June 2026) |
| Resale price, newer buildings | $1,304 per m² (February 2026) | $1,497 per m² (June 2026) |
| Latest annual price change, new builds | +4.0% over 2025 | +9.8% in the year to June 2026 |
| Gross rental yield | 8.6% (February 2026) | 7.1% (June 2026), down from 8.8% in 2024 |
| How the yield is measured | Long-term rent of $10.1 per m² a month for a 50-60 m² flat | Short-stay daily rate of $34.6 for flats of up to two bedrooms |
| Who buys | 77% Georgian citizens in surveyed developers' projects (2025) | 52% foreigners in developer sales (2025) |
| Visits by foreign visitors, 2025 | 3.8 million | 2.7 million in the whole of Adjara |
| Supply signal | 87,000 flats under construction; new permits down 50.7% in early 2026 | Unsold stock high; the analysts speak of oversupply pressure |
Why are they really two different investments?
Tbilisi is a capital of 1.37 million people whose flats are bought mainly by Georgians to live in. Its rental market is a long-term one: tenants sign for months or years, and rent moves slowly, holding between $9 and $10 a square metre each month through 2024 and 2025 before edging to $10.1 in February 2026. An investor in Tbilisi buys into a large, domestic, fairly steady market.
Batumi is a seaside city of the Adjara region, with 413,000 people in the whole autonomous republic, where more than half of developer sales in 2025 went to foreigners. Its rental income comes largely from short stays priced by the night, and Galt & Taggart measures its yield from the average daily rate. An investor in Batumi buys into a smaller, more international and more seasonal market, where prices have risen faster and the yield has been drifting down.
Neither description is a verdict. They simply mean that the question "which city is better?" has no answer until you say what the money is for.
The buyers differ in detail too. In the Tbilisi projects surveyed by Galt & Taggart, Israelis were the largest foreign group in 2025 at 10% of buyers, ahead of Russians at 3%, with Georgians at 77%. In Batumi, where foreigners bought 52% of developer sales, buyers come from a broader range of countries, so demand depends on more economies than Georgia's own.
What the same budget buys in each city
Average prices hide a wide range, but they are a fair first test of what a budget means in square metres. The table divides two budgets by the city averages and by a few district averages. Note the difference in condition: Tbilisi new-build prices are for white frame, which still needs finishing, while Batumi's are for turnkey flats.
| Location and price per m² | $100,000 buys | $155,000 buys |
|---|---|---|
| Tbilisi average, $1,398 (white frame) | about 72 m² | about 111 m² |
| Saburtalo, $1,613 (white frame) | about 62 m² | about 96 m² |
| Vake, $2,781 (white frame) | about 36 m² | about 56 m² |
| Batumi average, $1,960 (turnkey) | about 51 m² | about 79 m² |
| New Boulevard area, $1,800 (turnkey) | about 56 m² | about 86 m² |
| Old Batumi, $3,239 (turnkey) | about 31 m² | about 48 m² |
The second column is not chosen at random: a property worth more than $150,000 can support a residence permit, and $155,000 is an example of a budget above that line. The permit depends on the value an accredited assessor confirms, not on the price you paid, and the rules are explained in our guide to the $150,000 threshold.
Rental income: steady months or a strong season?
In Tbilisi, income arrives as a monthly rent from one tenant. At the February 2026 average of $10.1 per square metre, a 55 m² flat rents for roughly $555 a month. The rent is predictable, and the work is mostly finding a reliable tenant and keeping the flat in order. Income from renting a home for living purposes is taxed at 5% for an individual who claims no deductions (Tax Code, Article 81(2)).
In Batumi, the typical model is the short stay, and the city's year has a clear shape. The airport handled 1.23 million passengers in 2025, with August as the busiest month, and the average daily rate for small flats was $34.6 in the second quarter of 2026, 4.2% lower than a year earlier. Long-term rents exist too: Galt & Taggart reports $11.9 to $12.3 per square metre a month in Old Batumi and the New Boulevard area, and $10.6 in inner and peripheral zones. A short-stay flat earns more in a good summer and less in a wet winter, and someone has to clean, check guests in and answer messages, which costs money or time.
Price growth and what is behind it
New-build prices in Tbilisi rose 20.2% in 2023, 11.6% in 2024 and 4.0% in 2025: a cooling after the 2022-23 boom. Galt & Taggart expects single-digit growth in 2026, depending on supply. In Batumi, turnkey prices went from $1,618 per square metre in mid-2024 to $1,784 in mid-2025 and $1,960 in mid-2026, close to 10% a year.
Faster growth in Batumi comes with a warning from the same analysts: the wide gap between new-build and resale prices, the large pipeline of ongoing projects and a gradually declining yield limit how long the current pace can last. In Tbilisi the supply signal points the other way for now, with new construction permits down by half in early 2026, although 87,000 flats were already under construction. Growth that has happened is history; growth you pay for in advance is a forecast.
Selling later: liquidity and competition
An investment is only as good as the exit. Tbilisi recorded more than twice as many apartment sales as Batumi in 2025, and most of its buyers are local, so a flat in an established district usually meets a large pool of potential buyers. Batumi's buyers are more international, which widens the pool in good years and narrows it when travel or currencies turn. In both cities, a resale flat competes with developers' new stock; in Batumi the resale average was about 24% below the new-build average in June 2026, which tells you what a buyer of a used flat expects to pay compared with a new one.
Which city for which goal?
| Your main goal | Leans towards | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Steady rent with little management | Tbilisi | Long-term tenants, a higher measured yield, rents stable since 2024 |
| A holiday home that earns in summer | Batumi | Short-stay demand peaks in the season you would not be using it |
| Living in Georgia year-round | Tbilisi | Jobs, schools, services and a full city calendar |
| Capital growth, accepting more risk | Either, carefully | Batumi has grown faster recently; Tbilisi's supply is slowing |
| A residence permit at the lowest price per m² | Tbilisi | More square metres above the $150,000 line, in more districts |
| The easiest resale | Tbilisi | A deeper, mainly local buyer pool |
Can you combine the two?
Some investors do, and the logic is diversification: a long-let Tbilisi flat for steady income and a Batumi flat for the season and personal use. Two smaller flats spread the risk of one bad tenant or one slow summer, but they also double the purchase costs, the management and the paperwork, and each one on its own may fall below the value needed for a residence permit. Decide which goal matters most before splitting a budget that would buy one better flat.
Risks and exceptions
- Comparing yields measured differently. Tbilisi's figure comes from long-term rent, Batumi's from nightly rates.
- Comparing prices in different conditions. White frame needs finishing; turnkey does not.
- Buying growth that has already happened. Past price rises are not a forecast.
- Ignoring the season. A Batumi flat's winter months decide whether the year was good.
Frequently asked questions
Which city has the higher rental yield?
On the latest figures, Tbilisi: 8.6% in February 2026 against 7.1% in Batumi in June 2026. The two are measured differently, so treat the gap as a direction, not a precise difference.
Are prices higher in Batumi than in Tbilisi?
The averages say so, $1,960 against $1,398 per m², but Batumi's figure is for turnkey flats and Tbilisi's for white frame, so part of the gap is the finishing.
Do both cities qualify for a residence permit?
Yes. The rule depends on the value of non-agricultural property, not on the city.
Where do foreigners buy more?
In Batumi, where foreigners made 52% of developer sales in 2025. In surveyed Tbilisi projects, 77% of buyers were Georgian.
Is the Batumi market oversupplied?
Galt & Taggart reports high unsold stock and speaks of oversupply pressure, which is one reason it expects price growth to slow.
Does this comparison assume a mortgage?
No. All figures assume a cash purchase. If you plan to borrow, ask Georgian banks directly whether and on what terms they lend to non-residents, and add the interest to your calculation.
District-by-district and zone-by-zone figures are in our rental yield data; each city is covered in depth in the Tbilisi and Batumi guides.
Sources
- Tbilisi Residential Real Estate, 2025 full-year overview, Galt & Taggart, 30 January 2026 (accessed 12 October 2026)
- G&T: Tbilisi residential market has a strong start, Georgia Today, 31 March 2026 (accessed 12 October 2026)
- Batumi Residential Real Estate, 2Q26 overview, Galt & Taggart, 14 August 2026 (accessed 12 October 2026)
- Sector snapshot: Batumi residential real estate, Investor.ge, 20 April 2026 (accessed 12 October 2026)
- There are currently 87,000 apartments under construction in Tbilisi, Colliers Georgia via CBW (accessed 10 October 2026)
- Inbound tourism statistics 2025, Geostat (accessed 12 October 2026)
- Number of population as of 1 January 2026, Geostat (accessed 12 October 2026)
- Tax Code of Georgia (Article 81), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 12 October 2026)
Change log
- - Comparison published from Galt & Taggart's Tbilisi (February 2026) and Batumi (2Q26) data, Geostat and Colliers.