Secondary market in Georgia: what the label measures and why the figures differ

Secondary market: an analysts' label, not a legal category

The secondary market (მეორადი ბაზარი) is the segment of Georgian housing in which a flat that is already registered to an owner is sold on, as against the primary market, where a developer sells a unit for the first time.

No Georgian law we checked defines it. The Civil Code, the Tax Code and the Law on the Public Registry never mention a "primary" or "secondary" market, so each statistic rests on its publisher's convention. The one most quoted, printed on page 5 of Galt & Taggart's Tbilisi and Batumi market watches, calls the primary market "real estate sales made directly between buyers and developers" and the secondary market "real estate sales made between individuals", both counted from National Agency of Public Registry (NAPR) data. How a sale by a non-developer company is classed, we could not confirm.

Abroad the phrase can mislead: in finance it means trading securities after issue, and many buyers hear "secondary" as "old". In Galt & Taggart's figures the seller draws the line, not the building's age, so a flat in a recent tower sold on by its first owner is secondary too. For the legal comparison of the two purchases see new build or resale.

Seller first, permit year second: how the split is drawn

Galt & Taggart cuts twice: first by seller, then, on the secondary side only, by the year of the construction permit. Its July 2026 chart note reads: "Secondary new projects include buildings built with construction permits issued from 2013". Older permits make "old projects". No reason is given for 2013, and the December 2025 overview's text says "after 2013" where its chart says "from"; we follow the chart.

The reports also admit a weakness: NAPR-based statistics suffer from "late registrations of primary sales". An off-plan buyer usually becomes the registered owner only once the unit exists, so developer sales reach the count late, and Galt & Taggart runs a real-time developer survey beside it. In Tbilisi in 2025 primary sales rose 5.2% in the registry and 27.3% in the survey. Owner sales carry no such lag; the Batumi report says they "show real time dynamics".

How many sales are secondary in Tbilisi and Batumi

On the seller-based definition, owner sales are a little over half of registered sales in both big cities.

The Tbilisi share slipped after 2023 because registered developer sales rose by 3,372, while owner sales stayed between about 20,700 and 21,800; July 2026 owner sales, up 18.8%, were the "highest monthly level after 2022".

Batumi's secondary side is young. A Galt & Taggart deck of October 2025 counts about 2,500 owner sales in 2020 and 6,500 in 2024, while the housing stock grew from about 84,000 flats in 2019 to 119,000 in 2024, and estimates that roughly 30% of flats bought from developers there change owner again inside two years. On our reading, a sizeable part of Batumi's secondary market is therefore recent new-build stock changing hands.

Secondary prices: dated averages and what each one measures

The secondary series covers flats in any condition, while the primary series is white frame in Tbilisi and turnkey in Batumi. So the gaps, by our arithmetic 3.8% and 10.2% below primary in Tbilisi in July 2026 and 23.6% in Batumi in June 2026, are signals, not discounts. Galt & Taggart warns that "a wide gap between the two markets", with the large project pipeline and a falling yield, may weigh on Batumi's primary price growth. See price per square metre for the bases.

Official data do not fill the gap. Geostat's price index "covers only the market of new dwellings" in Tbilisi, from offer prices on advertising sites (+4.9% a year to the second quarter of 2026), and Geostat publishes no sales split by market.

What the secondary side changes in law and tax

The label has no legal force, but buying from an owner engages different rules. This is our reading of current texts; have a lawyer and an accountant confirm it.

• Registered title. Ownership passes on a written contract plus registration (Civil Code Art. 183(1)), and the seller's title is already on the register, so you can read it in a registry extract before paying.
• Registry presumption. Art. 312(2) treats the entry as correct for a buyer who acquires from the registered holder, unless a complaint was lodged or the buyer knew it was wrong.
• Lease. Under Art. 209 a buyer of a let flat steps into the landlord's position.
• VAT. The rate is 18% (Tax Code Art. 166). Art. 171(1)(c) exempts the supply of a land plot, not of a flat. A one-off or irregular sale, such as an owner's single resale of a home, is not economic activity (Art. 158(2)(b)), though a non-residential building always is (Art. 158(3)). We did not check whether price lists say "VAT included".
• Seller's tax. An individual's gain on selling a home is taxed at 5% (Art. 81(3)) and exempt once it was owned more than 2 years (Art. 82(1)(f.a)); see capital gains tax.

Single transactions have their own entries: resale and new development.

Where the label appears, and where it never does

The words appear in research reports and the press, almost never on the papers of a purchase.

1. Galt & Taggart: chart series "Secondary - New projects" and "Secondary - Old projects" (Tbilisi), "Primary (Turnkey)" and "Secondary (New projects)" (Batumi).
2. TBC Capital: "New apartments", "Old apartments" and "Share of new apartments (%)", with asking prices from myhome.ge data and a new method since November 2025.
3. Colliers, in the press: "new projects", "old projects", "new-project resales", undefined.
4. ss.ge adverts: no market field, only a seller-chosen building "Status" such as "Old built" (ძველი აშენებული), so a resale in a 2020 tower shows as new-built. myhome.ge blocked our requests.
5. Registry extract: never says "secondary"; it shows an individual as owner, the cadastral code, area and any mortgage or seizure, where an off-plan unit may show only a preliminary registration or the developer.
6. Contract: an ordinary sale and purchase agreement (ნასყიდობის ხელშეკრულება) between individuals.

Worked example: one question, four answers on market size

A buyer reading reports in late 2026 meets "about half", "more than four-fifths" and a national figure in between. Each is right for its own definition. The table is our comparison; the publishers did not compare them.

Scope (city or country) and label (who sold, or an undefined "new") move the answer from half to 86%. TBC Capital's "new" share was 14% in March 2026 and 16% in September 2025, far below Galt & Taggart's primary share. Even the Tbilisi 2025 totals differ: 42,267 for Colliers, 42,388 for Galt & Taggart. Quote a share only with its source, place, period and definition; our resale liquidity guide asks how fast a flat sells.

Easily confused: resale, old stock and the primary market

For the building question see Soviet block or new building; for buying before completion, pre-sale.

Secondary market in five languages

No Georgian legal act we checked contains მეორადი ბაზარი, and a resale is signed simply as a ნასყიდობის ხელშეკრულება between the owner and the buyer.

Mistakes when reading secondary-market figures

• Reading "secondary" as "Soviet". A 2015-permit resale is secondary too.
• Setting white frame beside any condition. The Tbilisi gap mixes finish levels.
• Reading a registry dip as falling demand. Late registrations can hide developer sales.
• Mixing city and country. 62.7% is all Georgia; 50.5% is Tbilisi.
• Trusting the listing status. "Old built" says nothing about who sells.
• Ignoring tax. A developer's sale of a flat is not VAT-exempt; a private seller within 2 years owes 5% on the gain.

How to read a secondary-market statistic in Georgia

1. Name the publisher

   Galt & Taggart, TBC Capital, Colliers or Geostat.

2. Find the definition

   Who sold, or the building's permit year, or an undefined label.

3. Check the scope

   One city, both big cities or the whole country.

4. Allow for the lag

   Registry counts trail developer sales; look for a survey figure.

5. Match the price basis

   White frame, turnkey or any condition, in dollars per m².

6. Check the flat itself

   Order an extract: the register shows the owner, not the segment.

Frequently asked questions

Does Georgian law define the secondary market?

No. The Civil Code, Tax Code and Public Registry law do not use the term.

How do analysts define it?

Galt & Taggart: "real estate sales made between individuals".

Is every secondary-market flat in an old building?

No. Resales permitted from 2013 are "new projects".

What share of Tbilisi sales were secondary in 2025?

50.5%, by our arithmetic: 21,427 of 42,388.

Why do other sources give a higher share?

Other labels or scopes, such as "old apartments" or all Georgia.

What was the Tbilisi resale price in July 2026?

USD 1,372 per m² in newer buildings, USD 1,280 in older ones.

Does a resale price include VAT?

Not when an owner's sale is one-off or irregular: that is not economic activity (Tax Code Art. 158(2)(b)).

Does Geostat publish a secondary-market index?

No. Its price index covers only new dwellings in Tbilisi.

Sources

1. Tbilisi market watch, July 2026, Galt & Taggart (accessed 2 November 2026)
2. Tbilisi 2025 full year overview, Galt & Taggart, 30 January 2026
3. Batumi market watch, 2Q26, Galt & Taggart, 14 August 2026
4. Real estate trends in Batumi, Galt & Taggart, October 2025
5. Tbilisi residential real estate, March 2026, TBC Capital
6. New apartment sales decrease in Tbilisi, BM.ge, 24 October 2025
7. Georgia's real estate market grows 6% in 2025, Georgia Today, 12 February 2026
8. Apartments sold in Tbilisi and Batumi in 2025, BM.ge, citing Colliers Georgia, 17 February 2026
9. Residential property price index, II quarter of 2026, Geostat
10. Civil Code of Georgia, Arts. 183, 209 and 312 (accessed 2 November 2026)
11. Tax Code of Georgia, Arts. 81, 82, 158, 166 and 171
12. ss.ge flat listings, building "Status" filter, 22 October 2026

Change log

• 2 November 2026 - Glossary entry published from Galt & Taggart, TBC Capital, BM.ge, Georgia Today, Colliers Georgia, Geostat, the Civil Code and the Tax Code of Georgia.