What is Saburtalo?
Saburtalo is Tbilisi's busiest property market: a district of Soviet-era blocks, universities and hospitals that has become the city's largest field of new construction. Galt & Taggart counted 7,186 flats sold in its Saburtalo zone in 2025, and in 2023 and 2024 the zone led the city by value of sales, with USD 713.4 million and USD 690.9 million. The administrative district covers 75.5 km² and had 138,493 residents at the 2014 census; Geostat's 2024 census results do not yet give a district figure.
The district grew from a Soviet plan: building began in 1956 on 330 hectares designed for 45,000 residents. Its name contains the Georgian word for ball, "burti", and the Georgian Encyclopedia cites it as a trace of the old ball-game tradition. Tbilisi City Council's decision No 16-35 of 2014 divides the district into 3 territorial units: Dighomi-Vashlijvari; Vedzisi, Kazbegi, Gotua and Saburtalo Street; and Kostava, Bakhtrioni, Dolidze and Khiliani. This page covers prices and rents, the construction boom, the hippodrome and the planned towers, transport, universities, air quality and Vashlijvari. Its neighbour to the south is covered in our Vake guide.
Map and boundaries
Core Saburtalo runs along Kazbegi Avenue, Vazha-Pshavela Avenue and Pekini Avenue between Heroes' Square and the State University metro station; the district continues north-west to Vashlijvari, Lisi Lake, Dighomi and Zurgovani.
Open the mapData use two different maps. Galt & Taggart's "Saburtalo" is a market zone that leaves out Vashlijvari and Didi Dighomi, which it prices separately, while the administrative district includes them and the Lisi Lake area. The district also holds the largest settlement in Georgia still classed as a village: Dighomi, with 22,136 residents at the 2024 census. Bagebi, Upper Saburtalo and the Nutsubidze Plateau, though often linked with Saburtalo, belong to Vake district.
Who Saburtalo suits
Suits
- Long-let investors who want a large, liquid market and a wide pool of tenants.
- Students, families and professionals who want the metro, universities, hospitals and shops close by.
- Buyers who want a new flat at a mid-market price, with many projects to compare.
Does not suit
- Buyers looking for green space and quiet streets.
- Anyone who dislikes building sites: the district has led the city in new permits.
- Buyers who want historic character rather than blocks and towers.
What flats cost and rent for
| Indicator | Dec 2023 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2025 | Jul 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New flats from developers | 1,445 | 1,526 | 1,613 | 1,732 |
| Rent for a new flat, a month | 12.4 | 11.4 | 11.3 | 11.4 |
| Resale, buildings permitted from 2013 | - | 1,553 | - | - |
| Resale, older buildings | - | 1,146 | - | - |
New-build prices have risen by about 5% to 6% a year, while rent per m² has eased since 2023. In July 2026 Galt & Taggart's range for new flats ran from USD 998 to 4,400 per m², with 772 sales in the month. Geostat's median asking price for completed new flats was GEL 4,333 per m² in the first quarter of 2026, and TBC Capital's resale asking price was USD 1,552 in October 2025 and USD 1,574 in March 2026, 4% higher than a year earlier. In December 2024 a flat in an older building, mostly Soviet-era stock, sold for about 26% less per m² than one in a building permitted from 2013, by our calculation.
The yield is the district's selling point. Rent of USD 11.4 per m² against a new-build price of USD 1,732 gives a gross yield of about 7.9% by our calculation, close to the city's 8.5% and far above Vake's or Mtatsminda's. A 55 m² flat at the district's rent asks about USD 627 a month. A detailed comparison of all districts is in our page on rents by district.
The construction boom
Saburtalo has carried more of Tbilisi's new building than any other area. Galt & Taggart's figures for residential construction permits in its Saburtalo zone rose from 202,000 m² in 2021 and 241,000 m² in 2022 to 610,000 m² in 2023, much of it around University and Mindeli streets and the Lisi area, and in 2024 the zone held 23% of all permitted residential area in the city, more than any other. More supply gives buyers choice, but it also means that a flat bought today may face a new tower across the street within a few years.
Planning rules have tightened only partly. The city's land use master plan of March 2019 barred raising building coefficients through regulatory plans and special zonal agreements; the Heinrich Böll Foundation argued in October 2025 that the city still routinely approves zoning amendments for projects that conflict with the plan. Residents have pushed back before: in August 2016 the felling of dozens of trees on Kazbegi Avenue for two mixed-use buildings led to a protest outside City Hall and a 6-day hunger strike. Before buying, check what is permitted on the plots around the building, not only on its own.
The hippodrome and the planned towers
The largest open space in the district is the former hippodrome on Tamarashvili Street, opened in 1959 and covering about 36 hectares. In 2020 the Cartu Foundation bought much of it and donated it to the city, which promised a Central Park designed in 26 zones by the Dutch firm LAP; by October 2026 the park had not opened. On 15 September 2026 a USD 2 billion "Downtown Tbilisi" development was presented on about 8 hectares beside the planned park, with a Trump-branded tower: the prime minister gave its height as 62 storeys, while earlier descriptions spoke of about 70, and the approved plan allows 7 high-rise buildings, the tallest of 79 storeys. Completion is planned for 2031 for the tower and 2033 for the whole complex, and no groundbreaking date had been announced.
The plan was approved in 2024 and revised on 18 September 2026; City Hall told OC Media that no environmental impact assessment was required because the plot is below the 10-hectare threshold. Residents describe the hippodrome's woodland as "Saburtalo's lungs" and point to existing congestion at the Kazbegi-Tamarashvili junction. For a flat near Tamarashvili Street, ask what the approved plan allows on the plots facing it before you buy.
Getting around
Saburtalo is built around metro Line 2. Its first section, from Station Square to Delisi, opened on 22 September 1979, the extension to Vazha-Pshavela on 3 April 2000 and the last one to State University on 16 October 2017, after work restarted in 2015 following a 22-year halt. The stations serving the district include Technical University, Medical University, Delisi, Vazha-Pshavela and State University, and passengers change to Line 1 at Station Square, where City Hall placed staff to manage crowding at peak hours in 2022.
The roads are busy. Paid hourly parking has covered Pekini Avenue since September 2020 and Vazha-Pshavela Avenue, Kazbegi Avenue and Kavtaradze Street since May 2021, at GEL 1 to 3 an hour by zone. In July 2026 the city announced a dedicated bus lane near City Mall, between Tavkhelidze Street and Vazha-Pshavela Avenue, citing persistent congestion. If you rely on public transport, a short walk to a Line 2 station matters more than the size of the building.
Universities, hospitals and shops
- Georgian Technical University. At 77 Kostava Street, with 17,443 students according to the university.
- Tbilisi State Medical University. At 33 Vazha-Pshavela Avenue, with a preparatory centre for foreign students; in 2017 it had 1,918 foreign students, 1,131 of them from India.
- Clinics. Among them the Aversi clinic at 27b Vazha-Pshavela Avenue.
- City Mall Saburtalo. At 70 Vazha-Pshavela Avenue, a GEL 210 million centre of 120,000 m² with parking for 1,500 cars.
The universities shape the rental market: Georgia Today describes Saburtalo as particularly suitable for students because of the metro, universities, shops and restaurants. Who rents and what they pay is set out in our guide to long-term tenants in Tbilisi.
Air and green space
The district has one of Tbilisi's automatic air monitoring stations, on Kazbegi Avenue. A study by Tbilisi State University's Institute of Geophysics, using National Environmental Agency data for 2017 to 2024, found that Kazbegi had the lowest average fine-particle (PM2.5) level of the city's three long-running stations, 14.8 µg/m³, and that levels fell in 2022 to 2024 compared with 2017 to 2019, though they stayed above WHO guidelines. Green space is the weaker side: City Hall estimates quoted by ISET put the city's green space at 1.3 m² per person in 2018, down from 5.6 m² in 2010, and FactCheck reported that no inventory had been made since 1988. We found no figure for Saburtalo alone.
Vashlijvari
Vashlijvari, on the slopes of Mount Onadiri at the district's western edge, was a village of vineyards that joined Tbilisi in 1972 and was built up for about 40,000 residents. It is the cheapest of Galt & Taggart's 12 zones for new flats: USD 945 per m² in December 2023, USD 1,027 in December 2024, USD 1,062 in December 2025 and USD 1,094 in July 2026, with rent of USD 9.5 per m² a month. About 1,100 flats were sold there in 2023 and 765 in 2024.
The slope is its known risk. In March 2021 a landslide opened on the slope above Machavariani Street near Lisi Lake: a geologist from Ilia State University measured a crack 19 metres deep, in a moving mass of about half a million cubic metres. City Hall began reinforcement works on 29 March 2021, residents petitioned for a construction moratorium, and the mayor announced in August 2021 that the street would reopen in both directions. We found no reports on the slope from 2022 to 2026. For a flat on Vashlijvari's slopes, ask for the building's geological survey and any monitoring results.
Letting a flat in Saburtalo
Georgia Today put Saburtalo's average asking rent at USD 11.3 per m² in April 2026 and said that USD 600 to 900 a month buys a comfortable one- or two-bedroom flat, while less than USD 600 means a smaller or older one. For short stays, Airbtics counted 966 listings with an average nightly rate of USD 42, below Vake's USD 50. With a yield close to the city average and a wide pool of tenants, Saburtalo suits a long-let plan; the income side is worked through in our guide to rental yields.
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Gross yield of about 7.9%, close to the city average | Rent per m² has eased since 2023 |
| Metro Line 2, with 5 stations serving the district | Congested avenues and paid parking |
| Universities, clinics and shops nearby | Little green space |
| The city's deepest market for buying and reselling | New towers can rise next to any building |
| Cheapest new flats in the city in Vashlijvari | A landslide history on the Vashlijvari slope |
To be added by the team: photos for the team to take: Kazbegi Avenue, Vazha-Pshavela Avenue at the metro, a 1960s Saburtalo block, a new tower on University Street, the former hippodrome, Georgian Technical University, City Mall Saburtalo, and the view over Vashlijvari towards Lisi Lake.
Checking a flat in Saburtalo step by step
Choose the zone
Core Saburtalo, Vashlijvari or the district's edges.
Measure the metro walk
From the door to the nearest Line 2 station.
Check the neighbouring plots
Permits and plans for towers next door.
Compare old and new
Older blocks sell for about a quarter less per m².
Ask about the slope
Geological survey for hillside buildings.
Run the yield
Rent at USD 11.4 per m² against your full price.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a new flat in Saburtalo cost?
USD 1,732 per m² in white frame in July 2026, on Galt & Taggart's data.
What is the rent in Saburtalo?
Galt & Taggart put it at USD 11.4 per m² a month in July 2026, so a 55 m² flat asks about USD 627.
Is Saburtalo a good place to invest?
For long lets, yes on the numbers: a gross yield of about 7.9% and a wide tenant pool.
Which metro stations serve Saburtalo?
Technical University, Medical University, Delisi, Vazha-Pshavela and State University, on Line 2.
Is Vashlijvari part of Saburtalo?
Yes, administratively; Galt & Taggart prices it as a separate, cheaper zone.
What is being built on the hippodrome?
A planned Central Park and, beside it, the "Downtown Tbilisi" towers announced in September 2026.
Is the air in Saburtalo clean?
Its Kazbegi Avenue station had the city's lowest PM2.5 in 2017 to 2024, still above WHO guidelines.
Are older Saburtalo flats much cheaper?
In December 2024 they sold for about 26% less per m² than flats in newer buildings.
Sources
- Tbilisi City Council decision No 16-35 on territorial units, 5 December 2014, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Tbilisi agglomeration air quality management plan 2024-2026, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture (accessed 21 October 2026)
- 2024 census results, Geostat, 22 June 2026 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Tbilisi architecture and Ball games, Georgian Encyclopedia (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Tbilisi residential real estate, 2023, 2024 and 2025 overviews, and July 2026, Galt & Taggart (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Residential real estate prices in Tbilisi, first quarter of 2026, 1TV, citing Geostat (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Average price of a square metre in Tbilisi, GBC, citing TBC Capital, and monthly watch, March 2026, TBC Capital (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Tax and legal brief, PwC Georgia, April 2019, and The politics of green space, Heinrich Böll Foundation, 28 October 2025 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Protest over tree felling on Kazbegi Avenue, Civil.ge, 3 September 2016 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Tbilisi hippodrome, Georgian National Tourism Administration, and Tbilisi Central Park, CBW (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Trump Tower Tbilisi unveiled, Georgia Today, September 2026; Trump Tower presentation, JAMnews, 16 September 2026; Tbilisi losing its lungs, OC Media (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Saburtalo Line, Wikipedia, and metro monitoring staff, 1TV, 28 September 2022 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Zonal parking on Vazha-Pshavela and Kazbegi avenues, 1TV, 7 April 2021; parking on Pekini Avenue, 1TV, 15 July 2020; new bus lane near City Mall, SOVA News, 30 July 2026 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- About us, Georgian Technical University; preparatory centre, Tbilisi State Medical University; Georgia's Indian student community, OC Media, April 2017 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Provider list, Georgia, Aetna International, and City Mall Saburtalo opened, CBW (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Particulate matter in Tbilisi, 2017-2024, M. Nodia Institute of Geophysics, Tbilisi State University, November 2025 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Call for more green space, ISET Policy Institute, 9 November 2020, and green space per person, FactCheck Georgia (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Vashlijvari, Georgian Encyclopedia (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Vashlijvari landslide, Civil.ge, 19 March 2021; residents' petition, Georgia Today, 22 March 2021; protection works, 1TV, 29 March 2021; reopening of Machavariani Street, Georgia Today, 26 August 2021 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- What it costs to rent an apartment in Tbilisi, Georgia Today, 17 August 2026, and Airbnb revenue in Tbilisi, Airbtics (accessed 21 October 2026)
Change log
- - Area guide published from Galt & Taggart, Geostat and TBC Capital data, the Tbilisi City Council decision on territorial units, the Georgian Encyclopedia, City Hall notices, university sources, air quality research and reporting on the hippodrome and the Vashlijvari landslide.