New development in Georgia: a market label, and the permits and records behind it

New development: a sales label, not a legal status

A new development (ახალი პროექტი, also called a new build) is a residential building that a developer puts up under a construction permit and sells flat by flat, either while it is still being built or as new stock after commissioning.

No Georgian law defines the phrase. The nearest legal notion is "new construction" (ახალი მშენებლობა) in Article 3, item "ე", of the Spatial Planning, Architectural and Construction Activities Code: "construction carried out on the part of a land plot where no building stands, or the complete replacement of an existing building; installation/placement of a temporary building". That is a permit category, not a description of a flat. The Law on the Public Registry adds the "building under construction" (მშენებარე შენობა-ნაგებობა) in Article 15-6(1), and statistics draw their own lines. In short, "new development" is a market label; what makes a flat legally new is its permit, its commissioning act and its registration.

In some countries the label comes with special protection for buyers of unfinished homes. Our research found no off-plan sale law and no mandatory escrow in Georgia, so the facts behind the word must be checked document by document. Galt & Taggart estimated in 2019 that 78% of Tbilisi housing was built before 1991, which helps explain why almost anything recent is sold as new.

Where the law draws the line: permit, registry and commissioning

Four legal texts decide what the buyer of a "new" flat actually holds, each at a different moment in the building's life.

The original text of Resolution No 255 of 31 May 2019 lists "new construction (including installation)" as a type of construction; we could not confirm its current wording. Article 15-6 of the Law on the Public Registry was last amended on 15 December 2023, and Order No 487 repeats its paragraph 1 word for word in Article 16(1), as rewritten by Order No 993 of 26 March 2024. Under Article 16(10), commissioning a multi-unit building changes the record of every unit. For permits issued from 1 January 2022, Code Article 139-1 (Law No 722) also bars using the building or connecting permanent electricity or gas before commissioning, so the permit year matters more than the brochure year.

Four publishers, four meanings of "new"

Market reports quoted to foreign buyers rarely say which buildings they count as new.

Geostat. Its Residential Property Price Index "covers the market of new residential property in Tbilisi", built from asking prices scraped from Myhome and ss.ge. The 2021 methodology never defines "new dwellings" but uses "completion status (in the process of construction/newly built)" as a price factor. In the second quarter of 2026 the index rose 4.9% on the year and stood 63.8% above its 2020 average. An IMF mission recommended in April 2025 that existing dwellings be added; we could not confirm that this has happened.

Galt & Taggart. The bank's research arm splits sales first by seller, and only resales by permit year. Its Tbilisi report of 30 January 2026 puts the resale line at permits issued from 2013 in a figure note, but "after 2013" in the body text. It also warns that developer sales reach the registry late.

TBC Capital. Its "new apartments" come without a published rule. If they cover registered transfers only, unregistered off-plan sales would be missing; that is our inference, not TBC's statement.

Developer sales and the tax that follows them

The pipeline behind these sales is large; our page on Tbilisi apartment supply reads it in detail.

Tax follows the seller and the asset, not the brochure. A VAT-registered developer selling a flat makes a taxable supply at 18% (Tax Code Arts. 158 and 166), while land alone is exempt (Art. 171(1)(c)). For an individual who resells, Public Ruling No 143 of 14 May 2026 treats a flat under construction with the basic features of a home as residential, so the 5% rate and the exemption after more than 2 years can apply. Assigning rights under a preliminary contract is taxed under the general rules instead. Check your own case with an accountant.

How "new" appears on a brochure, an extract and a listing

• Brochure: "residential complex", Block A or C, "phase 2", "delivery end of 2027", a frame level and a "price from" per m². None is a legal status, and no regulation defines the frame levels.
• Permit: names the object and its class; the Code's split between new construction and reconstruction matters here. See the construction permit entry.
• Extract: a building can be registered as under construction on its construction documentation. After commissioning the unit's record is updated; for registration the law knows buildings only as under construction (მშენებარე), built (აშენებული) or demolished (Art. 2); see the registry extract entry.
• ss.ge listing: a "Status" field with "Newly constructed" (ახალი აშენებული), "Under construction" (მშენებარე) and "Old constructed" (ძველი აშენებული), plus a separate condition field with values such as "Newly renovated". The seller picks both. We could not confirm the labels on myhome.ge.
• Reports: Geostat tables give medians for "newly-built residential properties"; Galt & Taggart's legend reads "Primary", "Secondary - New projects" and "Secondary - Old projects"; TBC Capital lists "new apartments" and "old apartments".

Banks separate finished, registered flats from unfinished ones under National Bank lending principles; we could not confirm the wording on bank forms.

Worked example: 16%, 50% or 76% new?

A buyer reading three sources in one evening could conclude that new builds are a niche, half the market, or almost all of it. Each figure measures something different, and they cannot be compared.

The first counts sellers over a year. The second counts buildings on TBC's own rule in one month; TBC rounds it to 16%, and in June 2025 it reported 21%. The third counts adverts, not sales, and the tag is self-declared. So when someone quotes "the new-build share", ask which measure it is.

Prices split the same way. In Didi Dighomi the ss.ge median ask for flats under construction was USD 979 per m² on 22 October 2026, against a Galt & Taggart August 2026 primary white-frame average of USD 1,140 per m². For 60 m² that is USD 58,740 against USD 68,400 (our arithmetic), a USD 9,660 gap that is not a discount: one is a median of asks for unfinished flats, the other an average for white frame. For new against resale, see new build or resale.

New development, off-plan, primary market: easily confused

A flat resold unused by its first buyer is "secondary - new project" for Galt & Taggart, part of the secondary market and a resale, even if the advert still says new. Floors added on top of an old block are reconstruction under the Code, yet their flats can be marketed as new.

The term in five languages

The legal Georgian forms are different: ახალი მშენებლობა (new construction) in the Code and მშენებარე შენობა-ნაგებობა (building under construction) in the registry law; ახალი პროექტი is the market word.

Mistakes buyers make with the word "new"

• Reading "newly constructed" as proof of commissioning. It is a box the seller ticks.
• Comparing shares or prices from two publishers. Each draws the line in a different place.
• Reading a Geostat index rise as a Batumi trend. The index covers Tbilisi only.
• Assuming new means registered. A unit can be sold only once registered as a separate object.
• Looking for an official developer register. We found none; see how to check a developer.

How to test what "new" means for a specific flat

1. Ask for the permit

   Note its class and issue date.

2. Order an extract

   Is the unit registered, under construction or built?

3. Ask about commissioning

   Required for Classes II to IV; for permits issued from 2022 the building may not be used before it.

4. Identify the seller

   Developer means primary; a private owner means resale.

5. Name the data source

   Match any quoted share to its publisher's definition.

Frequently asked questions

What is a new development in Georgia?

A residential building a developer builds under a permit and sells unit by unit, before or after completion. The term has no legal definition.

Does Georgian law define "new build"?

No. The Spatial Planning Code defines "new construction" as a permit category, and the Public Registry Law speaks of a "building under construction".

What does "primary market" mean in Georgian reports?

For Galt & Taggart, sales made directly between buyers and developers.

Which buildings are "new projects" for Galt & Taggart?

Resales in buildings with construction permits issued from 2013; developer sales count as primary.

Does the Geostat price index cover Batumi?

No. It covers new residential property in Tbilisi only.

Is "newly constructed" on ss.ge reliable?

It is chosen by the seller and proves neither commissioning nor registration.

Is there an official register of developers?

We found none.

Is VAT charged on a new flat?

A VAT-registered developer's sale of a flat is taxed at 18%; land alone is exempt.

Sources

1. Spatial Planning, Architectural and Construction Activities Code, Article 3 and English text, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 2 November 2026)
2. Government Resolution No 255 of 31 May 2019, Legislative Herald of Georgia
3. Law No 722 of 12 July 2021, Legislative Herald of Georgia
4. Law on the Public Registry, Article 15-6, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 2 November 2026)
5. Order No 993 of 26 March 2024, Legislative Herald of Georgia
6. Tax Code of Georgia, Legislative Herald of Georgia
7. Residential Property Price Index, Q2 2026 and methodology, Geostat
8. Technical assistance report, IMF, April 2025
9. Tbilisi Residential Real Estate, December 2025 and August 2026, Galt & Taggart
10. Sales of new apartments decrease in Tbilisi, BM.ge, 24 October 2025, and TBC Capital review, CBW
11. Tbilisi flats for sale, "Old constructed", ss.ge (accessed 22 October 2026)

Change log

• 2 November 2026 - Glossary entry published from the Spatial Planning Code, Resolution No 255, Law No 722, the Law on the Public Registry, Order No 993, the Tax Code, Geostat, the IMF, Galt & Taggart, TBC Capital via BM.ge and CBW, and ss.ge.