Pre-sale: the market word and the law behind it
A pre-sale (წინასწარი გაყიდვა, in some adverts პრე-სეილი) is a developer's early selling window, in which flats in a project not yet finished, and often not yet started, are sold directly by the developer under an ordinary Civil Code contract.
Pre-sale is the developer's early sales phase, while off-plan means any purchase made before completion: every pre-sale is off-plan, but a flat bought in the third year of construction is off-plan without being a pre-sale.
No Georgian law, National Bank rule or Geostat method defines "pre-sale", and Georgia has no special shared-construction law (JUST Advisors). The legal anchors sit in the Civil Code. Article 320 voids a promise to transfer all or part of one's future property, "except where the contract is concluded on individual things of future property" (our translation), wording we read as covering an identified flat in a planned block. Article 323 requires writing for any contract to transfer or acquire an immovable thing, and Article 327(3) allows a promise to conclude a future contract and applies the main contract's form to it. How courts apply Article 320 to off-plan sales, we could not confirm.
Buyers used to off-plan statutes or compulsory escrow abroad will find neither: the Chambers Real Estate 2026 guide describes no such regime in Georgia, and notes that projects are typically funded by pre-sales plus bank finance. Escrow exists only as an optional bank product: Terabank, for example, publishes a fee of 0.2%, minimum GEL 100, for residents and non-residents. No statutory penalty for a developer's delay exists either (JUST Advisors): a penalty applies only if the contract sets one.
Four contracts that can sit under a pre-sale
The label describes timing; what counts is the right the buyer holds on signing and who else can see it.
| Form | Legal basis | What the buyer holds | Visible to others |
|---|---|---|---|
| Promise to sign the sale later | Civil Code Arts. 327(3) and 323 | A claim to the sale | Only once registered |
| Sale of an identified future flat | Civil Code Arts. 320 and 323 | A contractual claim to that flat | Only once registered |
| Ownership of a unit under construction | Public Registry Law Art. 15-6(1) | Registered ownership | Yes, on the extract |
| Obligation to transfer a future unit | Public Registry Law Art. 15-6(9) and (10) | A recorded duty attached to the plot | Yes, against the plot |
Under Article 328(1), a contract for which the law sets a form enters into force only once that form is met, so an oral deal backed by a bank transfer is no contract for a flat. The first form is covered in our preliminary agreement entry, and the clauses to negotiate in the guide to the developer contract.
The third form rests on Article 15-6(1) of the Law on Public Registry: ownership of a building or unit, including a building under construction, is registered on the title document and the construction documentation, and on completion on the commissioning document. The registry instruction, Order 487, carries the same sentence in Article 16(1), as reworded by Minister of Justice Order No 993 of 26 March 2024. How often single flats are registered this way, we could not confirm.
When a pre-sale buyer's claim can first be recorded
Advertising can start at any time, but the registry law fixes the earliest moment a claim can go on record. Under Article 15-6(10), while no building under construction is registered on the plot, an obligation to transfer a unit to be built in the future can be registered only once construction use conditions (სამშენებლოდ გამოყენების პირობები, our translation) have been issued for that plot. On our reading these are the stage I land-use terms of the construction permit (Spatial Planning Code Arts. 101 and 104 to 105), valid for 3 years.
| Stage | Registry position | Buyer can record |
|---|---|---|
| Structure without construction documents | Information card only, not on the extract (Art. 15-6(2)) | No obligation to transfer its units (Art. 15-6(11)) |
| Stage I land-use terms issued | The plot | An obligation on a future unit (Art. 15-6(10)) |
| Building registered on construction documentation | Plot and building under construction | Ownership of a unit (Art. 15-6(1)) |
| Building commissioned | Data from the commissioning document | Ownership of the finished unit |
Article 15-6(5) adds that a unit may be alienated only once registered as a separate object, so until then the buyer holds a contract, not a flat. The fee is GEL 150 with a 4-working-day term, GEL 270 within 1 working day, or GEL 350 for same-day registration. For permits issued from 1 January 2022, Spatial Planning Code Article 139-1 bars use of the building, and permanent electricity or gas, before commissioning.
Why pre-sales show up late in the statistics
Galt & Taggart defines the primary market as "real estate sales made directly between buyers and developers", so every pre-sale is a primary sale. It warns that registry-based figures "have the drawback of late registrations of primary sales", and its developer survey shows the lag: Tbilisi primary sales (apartments sold) grew 5.2% in 2025 on registry data but 27.3% in the survey. So registry counts understate pre-sales. The survey's shares of flats sold by completion year are analysed in our guides to off-plan investment and Tbilisi supply.
| Payment method | Share of sales |
|---|---|
| Developer's internal instalments | 73% |
| Cash | 20% |
| Bank mortgage | 7% |
With instalments this dominant, the National Bank wants "to update the existing rules, make them more specific", so that nearly completed projects get more bank finance (Governor Natia Turnava, 17 December 2025). We could not confirm any new rule.
Pre-sale prices: advertised offers, no measured discount
No average pre-sale discount has been published for Georgia: we found no comparison of pre-sale and completion prices for the same flats, so any quoted discount is the seller's own claim. What developers publish are dated offers:
| Project | Published | Advertised terms |
|---|---|---|
| Maqro City, Tbilisi | 24 June 2025 | From USD 1,250 per m² in the pre-sales phase; down payment from 20%, interest-free instalments |
| Tbilisi Acres (Anagi) | 13 February 2026 | "Final offer of Phase One" at USD 1,750 per m², valid to the end of February |
| Three Domus projects | 9 January 2025 | New Year discounts of up to 9%, 5% and 8%; 15% first payment |
Read each row as advertising: a "from" price is the cheapest unit, and a discount is measured against the developer's own list price. In the material we found, neither Maqro nor Anagi gives a later-phase price.
How a pre-sale reads in adverts, contracts and the registry
- Adverts: "pre-sales phase", "Phase One", "final offer of Phase One", "price valid until" a date. Georgian news writes ბინების წინასწარი გაყიდვები დაიწყო, "pre-sales of flats have begun"; we found no Georgian source using პრე-სეილი.
- Contract: a preliminary agreement or a sale of a future flat with a payment schedule. The word pre-sale does not appear.
- Object: block, floor, number and area from the project drawings, since the unit has no cadastral code yet; the plot's code identifies the land.
- Extract: the registry extract shows the plot, then the building under construction. A registered unit shows the buyer as owner, and an obligation under Article 15-6(10) sits on the plot. We could not confirm its exact wording for an unfinished unit.
- Listings: the ss.ge status filter offers "Under construction" (მშენებარე) but no pre-sale value, and the seller picks the status.
Worked example: arriving early or late in the sales window
A buyer considers a Tbilisi project of 100 flats due in 2027. Applying Galt & Taggart's survey shares for 2027 projects (our calculation), about 39 flats were left in January 2026 (61% sold, 100 x 0.39) and about 34 in July 2026 (66% sold, 100 x 0.34). Later buyers get fewer units and, judging by phase pricing such as Anagi's, possibly higher prices.
Next, a price check. Maqro City's advertised from-price of USD 1,250 per m² gives USD 75,000 for 60 m² (1,250 x 60). Galt & Taggart's Tbilisi average primary price of USD 1,373 per m² (white frame, December 2025, report of 30 January 2026) gives USD 82,380 (1,373 x 60). The gap is USD 7,380, about 9.0% (7,380 / 82,380), but it is not a pre-sale discount: one figure is a project's cheapest unit, the other a citywide average. The advertised 20% down payment would be USD 15,000 (75,000 x 0.20), and our instalment calculator spreads the rest.
Easily confused with pre-sale
| Term | What it describes | Difference from a pre-sale |
|---|---|---|
| Off-plan | What you buy: a flat not yet finished | Any time before completion, from any seller |
| Preliminary agreement | A contract to sign the sale later | One legal form a pre-sale can take |
| Reservation | A fee holding a unit before any contract | Comes before the pre-sale contract |
| Instalment plan | How the price is paid | Used in 73% of new-flat sales, but a pre-sale can be paid in full |
A bulk pre-sale, where one investor takes 30 to 50 flats at a package price, is covered in our guide to bulk pre-sale purchases. Deposits are explained in the guide to reservation and deposit, and the project itself in our new development entry.
The term in five languages
| Language | Rendering |
|---|---|
| Georgian | წინასწარი გაყიდვა (market word: პრე-სეილი) |
| English | pre-sale |
| Russian | предпродажа |
| Hebrew | מכירה מוקדמת |
| Arabic | البيع المسبق |
Georgian contracts use neither word: they speak of a წინარე ხელშეკრულება or a ნასყიდობის ხელშეკრულება, and the registry law of a მშენებარე შენობა-ნაგებობა, a building under construction.
Warning signs in a pre-sale offer
- No stage I land-use terms for the plot: nothing can be registered for you under Article 15-6(10).
- An information card instead of a registered building: Article 15-6(11) bars registering an obligation to transfer its units.
- No duty on the developer to register your claim: under Article 13(4) of the registry law, the first filing ranks first.
- A discount without a dated price list: with no published average, the figure is the developer's own.
- Trust in reputation alone: we found no official register or licence of residential developers, and the insolvency law in force since 1 April 2021 gives homebuyers no priority (see when the developer is late).
To be added by the team: scans to add: a launch brochure page with a phase price and expiry date, a redacted contract page naming a flat by block, floor and number, and a redacted extract for a unit under construction. Completed deals only, with written consent.
How to check a pre-sale offer before you pay
Find the permit stage
Ask for the plot's land-use terms or permit.
Read the plot extract
Plot, building, or only an information card.
Name the legal form
Preliminary agreement or sale of a future flat.
Get the price in writing
A dated price list, not a spoken discount.
Register your claim
Under Article 15-6 or Article 12, in your name.
Check sold units
The developer's sold count, in writing.
Frequently asked questions
Is pre-sale a legal term in Georgia?
No. No law, National Bank rule or Geostat method defines it.
Is a pre-sale the same as buying off-plan?
Not quite. Every pre-sale is off-plan, but off-plan also covers purchases late in construction.
Can a contract cover a flat that does not exist yet?
On the wording of Civil Code Article 320, yes, if the flat is identified: its voidness rule excludes contracts on individual things of future property.
Can I register my flat before it is built?
Yes, as a unit under construction (Public Registry Law Art. 15-6(1)) or as an obligation on a future unit (Art. 15-6(10)).
What does registration cost?
GEL 150 at the standard speed (4 working days); GEL 270 or GEL 350 for faster service.
How big is the usual pre-sale discount?
No published average exists. Developers advertise their own phase prices and discounts.
Is pre-sale money held in escrow?
Georgia has no statutory escrow regime for off-plan sales, according to Chambers.
Can I move in before commissioning?
Not in a building permitted on or after 1 January 2022: Spatial Planning Code Art. 139-1 forbids it.
Sources
- Civil Code of Georgia, Georgian text, Articles 320 to 328 (accessed 2 November 2026)
- Law of Georgia on Public Registry, Articles 12, 13 and 15-6 (accessed 2 November 2026)
- Order No 993 of the Minister of Justice, 26 March 2024
- Spatial Planning Code of Georgia and Law No 722 of 12 July 2021
- Registration fees, National Agency of Public Registry
- Buying in a new development, JUST Advisors, 15 April 2025, and Real Estate 2026: Georgia, Chambers
- Escrow service, Terabank (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Tbilisi residential real estate, Galt & Taggart, 30 January 2026, and July 2026 edition
- New standards for instalments, BM.ge, 4 December 2025, and NBG on loans for nearly completed projects, BM.ge, 17 December 2025
- Maqro City pre-sales, Georgia Today, and Tbilisi Acres, Interpressnews
- New Year offers from Domus, Property Georgia, 9 January 2025
Change log
- - Glossary entry published from the Civil Code of Georgia, the Law on Public Registry, Order No 993 of the Minister of Justice, the Spatial Planning Code, NAPR, JUST Advisors, Chambers and Partners, Galt & Taggart, TBC Capital via BM.ge, Georgia Today, Interpressnews and Property Georgia.