Tbilisi’s July surge is real — but the secondary market is doing more of the work

The headline is strong, but the composition matters

BM.GE, citing market data discussed by Galt & Taggart and TBC Capital, reported 4,475 apartment sales in Tbilisi in July. Secondary-market sales reached 2,294 — the strongest monthly reading since 2022 — while primary-market sales were 2,181. TBC Capital’s July review put total market value at about $395 million, up 22% year on year.

That split changes the story. This is not simply a developer-led new-build boom. Existing apartments are absorbing a large share of the demand, which usually means buyers are finding enough value, location or immediacy in resale stock to compete with newly launched projects.

Prices are rising faster than rents

The average weighted white-frame price on the primary market reached about $1,426 per square metre. Average rent, meanwhile, stayed around $10 per square metre and the annual rental yield was about 8.5%.

Estate Briefing has already noted that Geostat’s Q2 index measures advertised prices for new homes, not completed transaction prices. The July sales data adds another layer: activity can accelerate even while rental economics remain comparatively stable. For investors, that means capital-growth expectations are carrying more of the story than a fresh jump in rent.

Why the resale market may be benefiting

A completed apartment removes delivery risk and lets the buyer inspect the building, neighbourhood and operating costs before committing. In a market where construction costs and labour expenses are rising, that certainty can become more valuable.

Developers can still compete with instalments and launch-stage pricing, but if construction costs keep pushing replacement values higher, good resale units may look increasingly rational — especially in established districts where the rental and resale market already exists.

Foreign demand is now large enough to matter

BM.GE reported that foreign citizens accounted for roughly 25% of the Tbilisi market in July and that demand from non-residents increased. That is a meaningful demand pool, but it also creates a second source of volatility: external buyers can respond quickly to exchange rates, regional politics, residency rules and relative pricing in other countries.

The practical implication is not that foreign demand is bad or unstable by definition. It is that a quarter of the market cannot be treated as background noise. If that share rises further, the composition of demand becomes as important as the total number of sales.

What people are saying

Public discussion is mixed and should not be mistaken for a representative survey. In recent Reddit threads, prospective foreign buyers describe Georgia’s purchase process as unusually easy, while other users warn about due diligence, trust and political risk. Separate Georgian discussions repeatedly return to affordability and the visibility of foreign buyers in Tbilisi and Batumi.