How to Buy Property in Georgia as a Foreigner

What foreigners can and cannot own

Apartments, houses, new developments and commercial property, anywhere in Georgia. Your name goes on the state registry, and you can sell, let or bequeath it freely. No residency requirement, no local co-owner rule, no annual fee for being foreign.

The single exception is agricultural land. Since 2019 the Georgian constitution restricts direct ownership of farmland by foreign individuals. For apartment and house buyers in Tbilisi and Batumi this restriction is irrelevant, but it matters if you are looking at village houses that come with agricultural plots.

Why buyers choose Georgia

• Residential sales reached 4.3 billion USD in 2024.
• Tbilisi averages around 1,400 USD per square metre, a fraction of comparable European capitals.
• Gross yields of 7 to 10 percent are normal in Tbilisi. Well-located Batumi apartments can beat that in high season.
• 5 percent flat tax on rental income for registered individual landlords.
• No capital gains tax on a sale after two years.
• The whole transfer happens at one desk at the Public Service Hall, in days.

The buying process, step by step

1. Shortlist and view. Browse listings, visit in person or take a video tour. Prices are negotiable, especially on the secondary market. Start with our properties, every one of them is checked against the state registry before it goes live.
2. Check the registry record. Before any money moves, pull the property's extract from NAPR, the National Agency of Public Registry. It shows the registered owner, mortgages, liens, and court orders. If the seller's name does not match the registry, stop. You can run this check free in your browser with any cadastral code, or in the SafeBuy app.
3. Agree terms and sign. For completed properties, a written sale and purchase agreement is enough. For off-plan purchases you sign with the developer, and this is where independent legal review earns its fee. Contracts state the price in GEL even when negotiated in dollars.
4. Pay securely. Most buyers pay by bank transfer, either from abroad or from a Georgian account opened for the purchase. Avoid paying anything substantial before the registry check is done. Escrow-style arrangements through banks or notaries are available and sensible for larger deals.
5. Register at NAPR. Both parties (or their representatives with power of attorney) submit the agreement at a Public Service Hall. Standard registration takes up to four business days for roughly 50 GEL; same-day service costs about 200 GEL. Once registered, the property is yours in the eyes of the state.
6. After the purchase. Transfer the utilities to your name, register as a taxpayer if you plan to rent the property out, and keep your registry extract. If you bought at or above 150,000 USD in value, you can start a residence permit application.

What it really costs

Transaction costs in Georgia are among the lowest anywhere, and this surprises buyers used to European closing costs of 7 to 12 percent.

• Purchase tax and stamp duty: none.
• NAPR registration fee: roughly 50 to 200 GEL depending on speed (about 20 to 75 USD).
• Agent commission: typically paid by the seller on resale deals; confirm before signing.
• Legal review: optional but recommended, usually a few hundred dollars.
• Annual property tax: income-linked. Households with worldwide income under 40,000 GEL are exempt; above that, rates range from 0.05 to 1 percent of market value, set by the municipality.
• Rental income tax: flat 5 percent for registered individual landlords renting residential property.
• Capital gains: none if you sell after two or more years of ownership; 5 percent on the gain if you sell earlier.

Tax rules change, and your personal situation matters. Treat the figures above as the standard case as of 2026 and confirm with a Georgian accountant before structuring anything.

Residency through property

Property valued at $150,000 or more can support a residence permit application. Approval is not automatic.

• Issued for one year, renewable while you keep the property.
• Family members can apply alongside the owner.
• An independent licensed appraisal sets the value, not the price you paid, so a cheaper property can qualify later if the market moves.
• Property registered before 1 March 2026 is assessed at the old 100,000 USD figure.
• A separate investment permit starts at 300,000 USD and leads toward permanent residency.

The Public Service Development Agency reviews every application. Confirm current thresholds before you commit to a purchase for this reason.

The risks, and how to remove them

Georgia's registry is transparent, but transparency only protects buyers who actually use it. The problems that reach lawyers' desks almost always trace back to one of these:

• Paying a deposit before checking who is actually registered as the owner.
• Buying off-plan from a developer with no completed track record or with the land itself mortgaged.
• Properties carrying registered mortgages, liens, or unpaid utility debts that transfer with the sale.
• Informal "agreements" on parking spaces, storage rooms, or square meters that never make it into the contract.

Every one of these is checkable before you pay. The SafeBuy app pulls the official NAPR record for any property, flags mortgages and title issues, and shows you the same legal transparency panel you see on our listings.

Where to buy: Tbilisi or Batumi

Tbilisi is the capital and the deeper market: year-round rental demand, a growing tech and remote-work population, and districts like Vake and Saburtalo with proven long-term appreciation. Batumi is the Black Sea resort play: lower entry prices, strong seasonal income, and heavy new construction along the coastline. Many investors end up holding one of each. Median asking prices for every district we track are in the Georgia Property Price Index. Browse current listings in Tbilisi and Batumi, or read the deeper market guides on our blog.

Considering Dubai as well? Compare Dubai with Tbilisi and Batumi, including ownership checks and an editable purchase-cost scenario.

Or just ask someone who has done it

A guide can only take you so far. David Lee has been buying property and land in Georgia for over two decades, and he will take a call.

The guide takes an hour to read. He will do it in thirty minutes.

The short version

David Lee

British investor. Co-founder and Strategic Advisor, SafeBuy.

• British investor in Georgian land and property for over two decadesThrough his company, Lee LLC.
• President of Magticom, 2004 to 2012Georgia's largest telecoms operator.
• President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Georgia, 2008 to 2016The body representing American business in the country.
• Co-founder of the European Business AssociationGeorgia's leading European business organisation.
• Chartered Accountant, MBA from the University of Warwick

Everything in this guide is here so you can check it yourself. If you would rather just ask, David has spent over twenty years buying land and property in Georgia and will take your questions in whatever order they come.

Free, no obligation, and no sales script. If a property is not worth buying, he will say so. He calls from a UK mobile number, starting +44.

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General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules current as of 2026. Confirm with a licensed Georgian lawyer or accountant before a purchase.