Investing in Georgian real estate: the complete 2026 guide

Georgian property as an investment, on one screen

Georgia sells itself to foreign investors with a short list of facts: foreigners may own property on the same terms as citizens, a purchase is registered in days for a few hundred lari, there is no transfer tax, apartment prices are quoted in dollars, and gross rental yields in the two main cities have stayed in the seven-to-nine percent range. All of that is true, and all of it is sourced on this page. What the short list leaves out is just as important: a very large construction pipeline in Tbilisi, a Batumi market where yields have fallen as prices rose, a currency that moves, tourism demand that depends on a few source countries, and an exit that depends on who will buy from you in five or ten years. This guide puts both halves on the table, with the research house and date behind every number, and shows how to turn them into an investment case for one specific apartment.

Two things about these numbers matter before anything else. First, the yields are gross: a year of rent divided by the price, before vacancy, costs and tax. Second, the figures are averages for whole cities, and the spread inside each city is wide; in Batumi, Galt & Taggart reports prices above $3,000 per square metre in Old Batumi and below $1,500 at the periphery. An investment is never made in an average. It is made in one apartment, in one building, on one street, and the rest of this guide is about getting from the average to that apartment.

Why foreign investors look at Georgia

The reasons are structural rather than promotional, and each can be checked.

• Open ownership. Foreigners buy residential and commercial property on the same terms as Georgian citizens; only agricultural land is reserved for citizens by Article 19(4) of the Constitution. A foreign owner has the same rights to let, sell, mortgage and bequeath as a local one. The guide to property law for foreigners explains the framework.
• Low transaction costs. Registration of a purchase at the Public Registry costs GEL 150, 270 or 350 depending on speed, registering a preliminary ownership right on an off-plan unit costs the same, and there is no separate transfer tax or stamp duty. Compared with markets where entry costs several percent of the price, this lowers the hurdle every investment has to clear.
• Dollar pricing. Apartment prices are quoted in US dollars, which makes the asset easy to compare for buyers whose savings are in dollars or currencies linked to it. It does not remove currency risk, as explained below, but it changes where the risk sits.
• A growing economy. Geostat reports real GDP growth of 7.5% in 2025, and the National Bank of Georgia described economic activity as strong in September 2026. Growth supports local incomes, which is what ultimately pays rents in Tbilisi.
• Visitor demand. Geostat counted 7.8 million international non-resident travellers in 2025 and 5.5 million visits for tourism purposes. Visitors are the tenants of short-term rentals, above all in Batumi.
• Residence through property. Since 1 March 2026 owning non-agricultural property in Georgia worth more than $150,000, assessed by an accredited valuer, can support a one-year residence permit, renewable while the property is held. For some buyers that turns a pure investment into an investment with a use.

None of these is a reason to buy a particular apartment. Together they explain why Georgia is on the list. Whether it stays on your list depends on the numbers for the apartment you are looking at, which is what the next section helps you build.

How to build an investment case in seven steps

An investment case is a short document you could hand to a sceptical friend: what you are buying, what it will earn after costs, what could go wrong, and how you will get out. Writing it before the reservation payment is the single best protection against buying on enthusiasm.

1. Define the goal

   Decide whether the apartment is for income, for capital growth, for a residence permit, for your own use part of the year, or a mix. Each goal favours a different city, building and layout, and a mix has to be priced honestly: weeks you use the apartment are weeks it does not earn.

2. Fix the budget and the currency

   Set the total budget including purchase costs, furnishing and a reserve, in the currency you will eventually measure the result in. Note which costs are in dollars and which in lari.

3. Choose the market

   Choose between Tbilisi's year-round local demand and Batumi's international, seasonal demand, or a resort. Use the comparison table below and the buyer mix of each city, not the headline yield alone.

4. Choose the segment

   Decide on new build or resale, ready or off-plan, studio or larger flat, long-term or short-term rental. Each choice moves the yield, the risk and the exit.

5. Model gross to net

   Start from a realistic rent for that exact apartment, then subtract vacancy, management, repairs, building charges, insurance and tax. Run a cautious case as well as a base case.

6. Plan the exit

   Name the likely buyer in five or ten years, the competing supply around you, and the tax position on sale. An investment you cannot sell is a cost, not an asset.

7. Check the legal and tax position

   Before paying anything, have the title, encumbrances, permits and contract checked by a lawyer acting for you, and the tax treatment of rent and sale confirmed by an accountant for your situation.

The rental yield calculator does the arithmetic in steps two and five with your own inputs. The sections below give you the evidence to choose those inputs.

Tbilisi and Batumi: two different markets

Most foreign investment goes to one of two cities, and they behave so differently that comparing them on yield alone is misleading.

Tbilisi is a capital city market. Its demand comes from Georgian households, students, relocated professionals and companies, and it runs all year. Rents have been stable: Galt & Taggart reports average rent within a range of $9 to $10 per square metre since 2024, with $9.8 in December 2025 for a typical 50 to 60 square metre flat. That stability is what keeps the gross yield near its long-term level even as prices rise slowly. The risk in Tbilisi is supply: a large pipeline means that in districts where many projects complete together, rents and resale prices face competition.

Batumi is a resort and an international market. More than half of apartment sales go to foreigners, and much of the rental demand is from summer visitors. In 2025 prices rose faster than rents: Galt & Taggart reports the average daily rate for short-term rentals broadly flat at $35.6 while the price per square metre climbed, which is exactly why the gross yield fell from 8.8% to 7.4%. A Batumi investor is buying a share of the tourism season and a position in an international resale market. Both can be attractive; both are more cyclical than a long lease in Tbilisi.

Resorts such as Gudauri and Bakuriani are a third, smaller market with their own seasons, and they have a dedicated comparison guide in the list below. For a first investment most buyers choose between the two cities, and the choice is less about which is better than about which risk you prefer to carry.

Where the return comes from: rent, price and currency

The total return on a Georgian apartment has three parts, and investors who look at only one of them are usually surprised by the result.

Net rent is the income after every cost. It is the most predictable part on a long lease in a good building and the least predictable on short stays in a crowded resort block.

Price change is the difference between what you pay and what you sell for, after the costs of both. In 2025 Tbilisi primary prices rose 4.0% and secondary prices 7.9%, according to Galt & Taggart; in Batumi the turnkey primary price moved from $1,699 to $1,865 per square metre, an increase of just under ten percent. The published outlooks are lower: single-digit growth for Tbilisi in 2026, and a moderation to four to six percent a year for Batumi. Outlooks are opinions about averages; they say nothing certain about your building, and they can be wrong in either direction.

Currency is the part most investors forget. A purchase price in dollars, rent received in lari or in dollars paid in lari, and a result measured in euros, shekels, dirhams or roubles means three exchange rates touch the investment. The lari strengthened in 2026: the National Bank of Georgia's official rate moved from 2.6806 to 2.6561 lari per dollar during June, and stood at 2.624 on 5 August, according to GBC's report of the official rates. A stronger lari makes lari rent worth more in dollars; a weaker one does the opposite. Over a holding period of several years the currency effect can be as large as a year's rent.

Inflation and interest rates set the background. The National Bank of Georgia kept its policy rate at 8.25% on 21 October 2026, with annual inflation at 5.6% in September and a central forecast of 5.4% for 2026, above its 3% target. In practice that means local borrowing is not cheap, rents have room to follow prices upward over time, and a return should be judged against what money earns elsewhere, not against zero.

From gross to net: a worked example

The example below uses only published city averages and clearly labelled assumptions. It is arithmetic, not a forecast or an offer, and it exists to show how quickly a gross figure shrinks.

Two points stand out. Three ordinary costs took two percentage points off the gross yield before tax, building charges and insurance were counted; and the price used here excludes furniture, which a rented apartment needs and which has to be paid for out of the same investment. A cautious case would add a second month of vacancy, a repair in year three and a currency move against you. If the cautious case still works for you, the investment is robust; if only the base case works, it is fragile.

Short-term rentals need a different model, because income is a nightly rate multiplied by booked nights, minus much higher running costs: cleaning, platform commissions, utilities and consumables paid by the owner, and furnishing to a hotel standard. A simple check shows how much the season matters. At Batumi's 2025 average daily rate of $35.6, a 40 square metre apartment bought at the city's average $1,865 per square metre, about $74,600, would need roughly 155 booked nights a year to produce the reported 7.4% gross yield. Whether your apartment fills that many nights depends on the building, the view, the reviews and the length of the season, and every one of those is checked before you buy, not after.

Supply and the exit

Every investment ends with a sale, a gift or an inheritance, and the price at that moment depends on who wants to buy and how many similar apartments are on offer. In Georgia the second question is the one to watch.

Colliers Georgia counts about 87,000 apartments under construction in Tbilisi, 84% more than in 2021. Galt & Taggart reports that the living area permitted for construction in Tbilisi fell 4.2% in 2025 to 1.7 million square metres, but still stood 32% above its 2015 to 2022 average. In Batumi, unsold apartments in the developer projects Galt & Taggart surveys rose by about 14% to some 12,400 units. These numbers do not mean prices must fall. They mean the market will be choosy: apartments in good locations and well-built, well-managed buildings will compete better than average units in average blocks, and off-plan resales will compete with developers still selling new units nearby.

The buyer at exit differs by city. In Tbilisi about nine buyers in ten are Georgian citizens, so a resale is mostly to local households, many of whom buy with a mortgage and care about schools, transport and building quality. In Batumi more than half of buyers are foreign, so a resale depends on continued international interest, which is broader in good years and thinner when one source market slows. Tbilisi secondary market sales rose 3.5% over 2025, according to Galt & Taggart, which is a sign that resale is a functioning market rather than an afterthought.

Two practical rules follow. Buy what a local family or a future foreign buyer would want without your furniture in it: a sensible layout, natural light, a good building and documents in order. And keep your file complete, from the extract and contract to permits and receipts, because a clean file is part of the price a careful buyer will pay you.

Off-plan or ready: the investment trade-off

Buying during construction is popular with foreign investors because developers often offer lower prices than for finished units and instalment plans that spread the payment. The trade-off is that you carry construction risk and earn no rent until completion.

• What you gain: a lower entry price in many projects, instalments over the construction period, a new apartment, and in some cases price growth during construction as the building takes shape.
• What you carry: the risk that the building is late or not completed, that the finished product differs from the plan, that the furnishing and fit-out cost more than expected, and that you resell against the developer's own remaining stock.
• What protects you: a developer with a record and permits that cover the building being sold, a contract with a delivery date, a penalty and a specification, payments tied to construction stages, and your preliminary ownership right entered in the Public Registry, at the standard registration fee.

A ready apartment costs more per square metre but starts earning sooner and can be inspected, measured and let before you commit. For a first investment from abroad, the ability to see exactly what you are buying is worth more than most buyers expect. How to check a developer and a construction contract is covered in the New builds section.

Long-term or short-term rental

The rental model decides the furniture, the management, the running costs and the risk, so it is chosen before the purchase.

Long-term rental suits Tbilisi above all. Tenants are residents, the lease runs for months or years, the tenant usually pays utilities, and the owner's work is finding a reliable tenant, holding a deposit and handling repairs. Income is steadier and lower; vacancy is the main risk. Under the Civil Code a tenancy survives a sale of the apartment, which matters if you plan to sell with a tenant in place.

Short-term rental suits Batumi and the resorts, and some central districts of Tbilisi. Income per night is higher and so are the costs: cleaning, laundry, platform commissions, utilities and consumables are on the owner, the apartment needs a higher standard of furnishing, and occupancy follows the season. Geostat reports an average stay of 5.6 nights for international visitors in 2025, which gives a sense of the turnover a short-let apartment has to handle. Building rules matter as well: some apartment owners associations restrict short stays, so the house rules are read before the purchase.

Many owners in Batumi combine the two: short stays in the summer season and a longer let, or personal use, the rest of the year. The combination can work, but it has to be planned in the investment case rather than improvised. Our rental management service describes how either model can be run from abroad.

What it costs to buy, hold and sell

The two-year rule deserves attention in any investment plan. A residential apartment sold after more than two years of ownership is exempt from personal income tax on the gain, according to Andersen in Georgia; a quick resale inside two years is taxed. An investor who plans to "flip" an off-plan unit should therefore count the tax on the gain, while one who holds for the medium term may not owe any in Georgia. Your home country may tax the same gain differently, which is a question for your own adviser. Tax residence in Georgia depends on spending 183 days or more in the country in any continuous 12-month period, not on owning property.

Residence permit as part of the investment

For some investors the apartment does double duty: it earns, and it supports a residence permit. Since 1 March 2026, the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons allows a one-year short-term residence permit to a foreigner who owns non-agricultural property in Georgia with a market value above $150,000, established by an accredited valuer, and the permit can cover the spouse and children. Above $300,000, the investment route can lead to a five-year investment residence permit. The details, documents and fees are in the guide to a residence permit by property.

Three investment consequences follow. The threshold is market value assessed by a valuer, not the price you paid, so an apartment bought just above $150,000 leaves no margin if the valuation comes in lower. The permit ends when the ownership ends, so a sale or a gift of the qualifying property has to be planned against the permit. And the threshold has been raised before, most recently from $100,000, so a plan that depends on it should not assume it will never change again; holders under the previous rules have been allowed to continue renewing while they keep the property, but future amendments may set their own transition rules.

The risks, named one by one

Every market has risks. These are the ones specific to Georgian residential property, with the evidence behind each.

• Supply. A large pipeline in Tbilisi and rising unsold stock in surveyed Batumi projects can hold back rents and resale prices in crowded districts.
• Falling yields where prices outrun rents. Batumi's gross yield fell from 8.8% to 7.4% in one year as prices rose and the average daily rate stayed flat.
• Concentration of demand. Foreign buyers make up 52% of Batumi sales, and Russia, Türkiye and Armenia together account for about half of international visitors, according to Geostat. A change in one source market moves demand.
• Currency. Prices in dollars, rents and taxes in lari, and results measured in your home currency mean exchange rates can add to or take from the return.
• Rules that change. The residence permit threshold, the work permit rules introduced in 2026 and tax provisions have all changed in recent years. Rules that support an investment case should be rechecked before each major decision.
• Construction and developer risk. Off-plan investments depend on the developer finishing the building as contracted.
• Legal risk. Title defects, encumbrances and unauthorised floors are avoidable with a proper check, and expensive without one.
• Liquidity. A specific apartment may take longer to sell than the market average suggests, especially if similar units are on offer nearby.

Naming a risk is not the same as avoiding the investment. It is the step that lets you price it, reduce it or decide you are not the right owner for it.

Who Georgian property suits, and who it does not

It tends to suit investors who want a tangible asset in a market with simple ownership rules and low entry costs, who are content with a mid-single-digit net yield before tax, who can hold for several years, and who accept that the result will vary with the season, the currency and the building. It suits buyers who will use the apartment for part of the year and accept the lower income that comes with that, and families for whom a residence permit has real value.

It tends not to suit investors who need a fixed income, who must be able to sell within months, who would be harmed by a currency move against them, or who are relying on a promised return. Anyone offered a "guaranteed" yield, a "guaranteed" buy-back or a "guaranteed" residence permit should treat the offer as a warning, because Georgian law provides no such guarantees and no honest adviser can give them.

What different budgets buy, in square metres

Budgets are often set in round numbers. The arithmetic below divides each one by the published city averages to show the size of apartment it implies before costs and furniture. Actual prices vary widely by district, building and frame, so treat each figure as a starting point for a search, not a promise of what is available.

One large apartment or two small ones is a common question at the higher budgets. Two units spread vacancy risk and can be sold separately; one unit is simpler to manage and may suit a residence permit plan better. Each budget level has a dedicated guide in the list below.

Twelve questions before you commit

1. What is the goal of this purchase, in one sentence?
2. What is the total budget including costs, furniture and a reserve, and in which currency do I measure the result?
3. Who is the tenant, and where will I find one?
4. What rent do comparable apartments in this building or street actually achieve, not ask?
5. What is my net yield in a base case and in a cautious case?
6. How many similar apartments are being built or sold within walking distance?
7. Who would buy this apartment from me in five or ten years, and why?
8. What does the association charge, and do its rules allow my rental model?
9. Has a lawyer acting for me checked the title, encumbrances, permits and contract?
10. Has an accountant confirmed the tax on rent and on sale, in Georgia and at home?
11. If I rely on a residence permit, what is the appraised value and how much margin is there?
12. What will I do if the rent is lower, the currency moves against me, or the building is late?

Invest & money: the detailed guides

Risks and exceptions

• Buying on gross yield. Vacancy, management and repairs alone can take two points off the headline figure before tax.
• Ignoring the exit. A unit identical to hundreds of others nearby is hard to sell at a premium.
• Overpaying for residence. A price just above $150,000 leaves no margin if the valuation is lower.
• Short-let rules. An association can restrict short stays; read the house rules before buying for that model.
• Currency mismatch. Measure the result in the currency you will spend, not the one in the listing.
• Off-plan without protections. No stage payments, no penalty, no preliminary registration.
• Flipping inside two years. The income tax exemption on a residential sale needs more than two years of ownership.
• "Guaranteed" returns. Treat any promised yield, buy-back or permit as a warning sign.

Frequently asked questions

What rental yield do apartments in Georgia earn?

Galt & Taggart reports gross yields of 8.6% in Tbilisi in December 2025 and 7.4% in Batumi for 2025. Net yield after vacancy, management, repairs and tax is lower; in a simple example with ordinary assumptions it falls by about two points before tax.

Are prices still rising?

In 2025 Tbilisi primary prices rose 4.0% and secondary prices 7.9%, and Batumi's turnkey price rose from $1,699 to $1,865 per square metre. Published outlooks for 2026 are single-digit growth for Tbilisi and four to six percent a year for Batumi. They are forecasts about averages, not promises.

Is Tbilisi or Batumi better for investment?

Tbilisi offers year-round local demand, stable rents and a mostly local resale market, with a large construction pipeline as the main risk. Batumi offers visitor demand and an international buyer base, with seasonal income and falling yields as prices rose. The better choice depends on the risk you prefer.

What does it cost to buy?

The Public Registry fee is GEL 150, 270 or 350 depending on speed, and there is no transfer tax. Professional fees for a lawyer, notary, translator or valuer are agreed case by case, and furniture is a separate budget line.

Do I pay tax when I sell?

According to Andersen, Georgia charges no personal income tax on the gain from residential property kept for more than two years. Shorter holdings are taxed, and your home country may tax the gain as well. Confirm both with an accountant.

Can my investment give me residence?

Ownership of non-agricultural property with an appraised market value above $150,000 can support a one-year residence permit since 1 March 2026, renewable while you keep the property. Above $300,000 an investment residence route exists. The permit ends if the ownership ends.

Should I buy off-plan or ready?

Off-plan often costs less and can be paid in instalments, but you carry construction risk and earn nothing until completion. Ready apartments cost more but can be inspected and let at once. For a first purchase from abroad, many investors prefer to see what they buy.

How does the exchange rate affect my return?

Prices are in dollars, rents often in lari, and you measure the result in your own currency. The lari strengthened in 2026, to 2.624 per dollar on 5 August. A stronger lari raises the dollar value of lari rent; a weaker one lowers it.

Sources

1. Monetary policy rate kept at 8.25%, National Bank of Georgia, 21 October 2026 (accessed 21 October 2026)
2. Galt&Taggart predicts single-digit growth in apartment prices in Tbilisi in 2026, GBC, 22 January 2026 (accessed 12 October 2026)
3. Tbilisi Residential Real Estate, December 2025, Galt & Taggart (accessed 12 October 2026)
4. Sector snapshot: Batumi residential real estate, Investor.ge, 20 April 2026, citing Galt & Taggart (accessed 12 October 2026)
5. There are currently 87,000 apartments under construction in Tbilisi, Colliers Georgia via CBW (accessed 10 October 2026)
6. Record year for Georgia's real estate market, Colliers Georgia via GBC (accessed 10 October 2026)
7. Gross Domestic Product of Georgia in 2025, National Statistics Office of Georgia (accessed 12 October 2026)
8. Geostat reports foreign visitors spent 15 billion GEL in Georgia in 2025, First Channel, 30 January 2026 (accessed 12 October 2026)
9. NBG keeps refinancing rate unchanged at 8.25%, expects 5.2% inflation in 2026, Civil.ge, 9 September 2026 (accessed 12 October 2026)
10. Lari strengthens in July too, GBC, 4 August 2026, citing official rates of the National Bank of Georgia (accessed 12 October 2026)
11. Immovable property registration: fees and terms, National Agency of Public Registry (accessed 11 October 2026)
12. Real Estate 2026: Georgia, MB Legal for Chambers and Partners, updated 7 May 2026 (accessed 11 October 2026)
13. Georgia: individual, other taxes, PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries (accessed 11 October 2026)
14. Georgia: individual, residence, PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries (accessed 11 October 2026)
15. Tax obligations upon sale of residential property, Andersen in Georgia (accessed 11 October 2026)
16. Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, consolidated 25 June 2026, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 11 October 2026)
17. Constitution of Georgia (Article 19), consolidated 29 June 2020, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 11 October 2026)

Change log

• 12 October 2026 - Complete guide published from Galt & Taggart, Colliers Georgia, Geostat and National Bank of Georgia data; tax lines await the accountant.