Which Batumi zone is the best investment?
There is no single best zone, because Batumi's zones are different investments. The New Boulevard area has the highest long-let rent per square metre and the most sales, but also by far the largest pipeline of new flats. Old Batumi has the least new supply relative to its sales and the strongest demand growth in 2025, but the lowest rent relative to its price. The inner and peripheral areas sell mainly to local families and suit long lets. Makhinjauri and Gonio-Kvariati are calmer coasts with thinner markets and years of supply ahead.
This guide compares the zones on the numbers an investor needs: price and its growth, rent and the yield it implies, sales, and how many new flats are coming relative to what each zone sells. It uses Galt & Taggart's zone data for 2025 and the second quarter of 2026 and its October 2025 pipeline study. What each zone looks and feels like is described in our Batumi guide.
The investor's scorecard
| Zone | Turnkey price, Jun 2026 | Gross yield from long-let rent | Sales in 2025 | Flats in the 2025-29 pipeline | Pipeline in years of 2025 sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old Batumi | $3,239 | 4.4% | 1,727 | 3,331 | 1.9 |
| Gonio-Kvariati | $2,228 | n/a | 386 | 3,871 | 10.0 |
| Alley of Heroes | $2,166 | n/a | 3,993 | 12,066 | 3.0 |
| Makhinjauri | $1,983 | n/a | 948 | 5,932 | 6.3 |
| New Boulevard area | $1,800 | 8.2% | 6,807 | 22,430 | 3.3 |
| Peripheral zones | $1,744 | 7.3% | 1,686 | 4,836 | 2.9 |
| Inner areas | $1,672 | 7.6% | 1,931 | 5,309 | 2.7 |
How to read it. The yield is twelve months of Galt & Taggart's June 2026 average long-let rent per square metre divided by the turnkey price, before costs and tax; zones without a published rent have no figure. Sales are all registered sales in 2025, new and resale together. The last column divides the flats in projects under way for 2025-2029 by the zone's 2025 sales: it is a rough measure of how long the coming supply would take to sell at last year's pace, and it overstates the real time because not every new flat is resold, while understating competition because resales add to it.
What the scorecard says
- Old Batumi: scarce supply, low yield. The least pipeline relative to sales and a 77.3% jump in 2025 sales, but at more than $3,200 per m² the rent buys only about 4.4% gross. A zone for value and character more than income.
- New Boulevard area: income and competition. The highest rent per m² and a gross yield of about 8.2%, with 39.9% of the city's sales in the second quarter of 2026. Yet 22,430 flats are coming, 93% of them built for investors, so a unit competes with thousands of similar ones.
- Alley of Heroes: newest stock, slower growth. 96% of its pipeline is for investors and its price rose 5.0% in the year to June 2026, the slowest of the coastal zones.
- Makhinjauri: rising demand, long pipeline. Sales rose 47.1% in the first half of 2026, but the pipeline equals more than six years of 2025 sales.
- Gonio-Kvariati: a thin market. Only 386 sales in 2025 and 142 in the first half of 2026, down 13.9%, against a pipeline of about ten years of sales.
- Inner and peripheral areas: the local market. 97% and 65% of their pipelines are for personal use, rents are close to the coastal zones, and Galt & Taggart describes residential supply and demand as balanced at about 2,300 flats a year.
Price growth by zone
| Zone | Dec 2024 to Dec 2025 | Jun 2025 to Jun 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Old Batumi | +1.8% | +9.0% |
| Alley of Heroes | +10.3% | +5.0% |
| Gonio-Kvariati | +8.1% | +8.2% |
| Makhinjauri | +5.0% | +6.4% |
| New Boulevard area | +12.5% | +11.5% |
| Inner areas | +12.5% | +7.4% |
| Peripheral zones | +10.8% | +9.0% |
Growth has been broad: no zone fell in either period. The zone set changed in 2025, when Alley of Heroes became a separate zone, and earlier reports quoted white-frame rather than turnkey prices, so zone figures from 2024 and before cannot be chained to these.
Short stays: what the zone figures do not show
Galt & Taggart publishes long-let rents by zone but no nightly rates or occupancy by zone. City-wide, small flats let for an average of $34.6 a night between April and June 2026, 4.2% less than a year before, and the gross yield on short stays fell from 10.0% in 2023 to 7.1% in June 2026. About 18,000 to 20,000 flats were used for short stays at the end of 2024, and Galt & Taggart expects 35,000 to 40,000 by 2029. About 30% of flats bought from developers are resold within two years, which adds to the supply a new owner competes with. Our comparison of long lets and short stays shows what these figures mean after costs.
Who is buying
In the first half of 2026, Galt & Taggart's survey of developers found Georgians made up 33% of buyers in surveyed projects, buyers from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus 18%, Europeans 15%, Israelis 10%, buyers from Arab countries 7% and Turkish buyers 5%. Its October 2025 study put the typical investment flat at about 40 m² and $76,000, with 80% of purchases made for investment. That buyer mix matters for resale: Galt & Taggart itself flagged the risk to Israeli demand from the escalation with Iran.
Kobuleti as an alternative
| Period | Kobuleti | Batumi |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 2024 | $1,630 | $1,699 (2024 average) |
| Dec 2025 | $1,721 | $1,865 (2025 average) |
| Jun 2026 | $1,731 | $1,960 |
Kobuleti, which in these reports includes Chakvi and Tsikhisdziri, sold 689 flats in 2024 and 599 in 2025, and 287 in the first half of 2026, up 23.2%. It is cheaper than every Batumi coastal zone but the market is a fraction of the size, and Galt & Taggart notes development spreading along the Adjara coast.
Large projects that may change the map
Two projects stand out for their scale. Ambassadori Island, a set of artificial peninsulas and an island covering 84 hectares, had its first 26 hectares accepted into operation by the construction supervision agency in September 2025, with about half of the land planned as public space; no number of flats has been published. In the Chorokhi delta near Gonio, about 258 hectares of coastal land were transferred under government decisions of 2025 for a large development, and the reported terms differ between sources. Neither project's effect on prices nearby can be measured yet.
Infrastructure that shapes the zones
- The airport. Batumi airport handled a record 1,230,200 passengers in 2025, up 29%. Its operator presented plans in February 2026 to expand the terminal and build a new one, without a cost or date; a smaller extension raising capacity to 1.7 million passengers a year has been reported for 2027.
- Roads. The 14 km Batumi bypass opened in October 2024. A loan of EUR 306.6 million for the road from the bypass to the Sarpi border, with a 7.6 km tunnel, was signed in October 2025, and in September 2026 the roads department announced a GEL 809 million contract with a Chinese contractor, due to be completed within 48 months of the start of works. The road is meant to take transit traffic away from the resort coast.
- The boulevard. In July 2026 a design competition was announced to rehabilitate the old and new boulevards and the Chorokhi recreation area, including a pedestrian bridge from Batumi to Gonio. A 2019 plan to extend the boulevard to Sarpi was not carried out on schedule.
- Planning rules. Batumi's land-use plan dates from 2009, amended many times; we found no moratorium on high-rise building on the seafront. Old Batumi has been a rehabilitation area since 2011, and in 2024 the city council asked City Hall to prepare building rules and heritage protection zones for the historic part.
Physical risks by location
- Coastal erosion. About 5 km of coast towards the airport and Adlia eroded because the Chorokhi river carries less sediment; an ADB-funded project restored part of it, and in September 2026 the roads department invited bids to design protection at nine more coastal sites, including Kobuleti.
- Storms on the boulevard. Storms damaged the New Boulevard in November 2023 and covered it with silt and gravel in September 2025.
- Heavy rain. In August 2025 heavy rain flooded several streets, worst in Chaobi, with water in basements. The World Bank's ThinkHazard tool rates Adjara high for river flood, urban flood and landslide.
- Building alterations. In October 2021 a residential building at 26 May Street collapsed after load-bearing walls were removed during a ground-floor renovation, killing nine people. Ask what work has been done in the building you buy into.
How to choose a zone
Decide what the flat is for
Summer short stays, a year-round long let, your own holidays, or value over time.
Match the zone to the purpose
Use the scorecard: rent and yield for income, pipeline for competition, sales for resale.
Compare buildings, not only zones
Price ranges inside each zone are wide; the building, floor and view decide a unit's performance.
Count the competition
Ask how many units in the same building and the next ones are for sale or let.
Check the physical risks
Distance from the shoreline, flood history of the street, and any structural changes in the building.
Risks and exceptions
- Pipeline. About 58,000 flats are planned in 2025-2029, most for investors.
- Falling short-stay rates. The average daily rate fell in 2025 and 2026.
- Thin zones. Gonio-Kvariati and Makhinjauri sell few flats a year.
- Expensive zones. Old Batumi prices leave a low rent yield.
- Coast and weather. Erosion, storms and flooding affect some locations.
Frequently asked questions
Which Batumi zone has the highest rental yield?
On long-let rents, the New Boulevard area at about 8.2% gross in June 2026, by our calculation from Galt & Taggart data.
Where is the least new supply?
Old Batumi: its pipeline equals about two years of its 2025 sales.
Which zone grew fastest?
The New Boulevard area, up 11.5% in the year to June 2026.
Is Old Batumi a good investment?
For value and scarcity, possibly; for rent, its gross yield of about 4.4% is the lowest.
Are there nightly rates by zone?
No published source gives them; for small flats across the city the average was $34.6 in April-June 2026.
Is Kobuleti cheaper?
Yes, $1,731 per m² in June 2026 against $1,960 for Batumi, in a much smaller market.
Who buys in Batumi?
In surveyed projects in early 2026, a third of buyers were Georgian and two thirds foreign.
Does choosing the right zone secure a return?
No zone does that; the building and the competition around it matter more.
Sources
- Batumi Residential Real Estate, 2Q26 Overview, Galt & Taggart (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Batumi Residential Real Estate, 2025 Review and 2026 Outlook, Galt & Taggart (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Real Estate Trends in Batumi, October 2025, Galt & Taggart (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Ambassadori Island Batumi commissions 26-hectare land, Georgia Today (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Report on the Chorokhi delta land transfer, Batumelebi (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Deltares tackles coastal erosion in Batumi, Dredging Today (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Georgia announces tender for Black Sea coastal protection, First Channel (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Storm clean-up works on the boulevard, Batumi Boulevard (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Heavy rain floods several streets in Batumi, Georgia Today (accessed 18 October 2026)
- ThinkHazard: Adjara, World Bank GFDRR (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Batumi tragedy: the city assesses its residential buildings, JAMnews (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Batumi bypass highway opens, First Channel (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Ministry of Economy discusses Batumi airport expansion plan, First Channel (accessed 18 October 2026)
- TAV Georgia to invest in Batumi airport expansion, International Investment (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Georgia and ADB sign deal for Batumi-Sarpi highway, Georgia Today (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Construction begins on new Batumi-Sarpi road, First Channel (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Design competition for the rehabilitation of Batumi Boulevard, Municipal Development Fund of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)
- Batumi City Council Resolution No 17 of 30 April 2024, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 18 October 2026)
Change log
- - Guide published from Galt & Taggart zone data (2Q26, 2025 review, October 2025 pipeline study) and official infrastructure and hazard sources.