"It went up by $20K in a month." Why tech workers are buying apartments in Georgia

«I regret not doing this in 2022 — we would have gained at least $60,000»

Maxim*, developer; location — Tbilisi:

— My family and I moved to Georgia after the war started, and about a month ago, we bought an apartment here.

Why? Well, we’ve been living here for almost four years, renting accommodation, with money sitting in our account unused. Meanwhile, we’ve been watching real estate prices rise (not just here, but throughout Europe). We’re not planning to stay here forever, but we understand that $100,000 in our account will still be $100,000 a year from now, whereas we’ll be able to sell the apartment for much more than we paid. It’s already increased in value by $20,000 in the last month.

We considered various options, including secondary housing, but focused on newer buildings — nothing older than 2015. My wife had been monitoring MyHome for a while, calling about listings to check prices, and discussing options with realtors. Since sellers pay realtor fees in Georgia, many realtors would disappear after showing us one or two apartments if they didn’t see immediate interest.

But one realtor had a different approach: he immediately gathered our requirements and suggested several new development options in good residential complexes. We visited them all, collected reviews about the developers, and chose what we liked. We got lucky because the developer was running a promotion at that time, as our realtor hinted — so we bought the apartment for even less than we had planned.

Another big plus: our apartment came with a turnkey finish — normally, at this price point, you’d only get a shell unit. Sure, it’s not without flaws, but it’s livable, especially since we don’t see this apartment as our forever home. We definitely didn’t want to spend 6-8 months doing renovations, so this was an excellent option.

What else: we’re in a good neighborhood — almost in the city center with developed infrastructure.

Generally, the cost per square meter in new Tbilisi buildings ranges from $1,200 to $4,000 depending on the district. But in my opinion, areas like Vake and Saburtalo are overpriced — I don’t understand why they’re asking $2,500 to $4,000 per square meter, especially since Samgori or Isani are actually closer to the center. You can find good residential complexes even in more distant areas.

Interestingly, if you get involved at the foundation stage of construction, the cost per square meter starts at just $800 — significantly cheaper than in Belarus right now. But we only looked at completed properties.

We didn’t take out a mortgage, but that’s certainly possible in Georgia. I did research this option. If you have a residence permit here, you can get a mortgage in the national currency at 11% annual interest.

Was I afraid to get involved in buying property in a foreign country? I can say that Belarusians are treated well here. Yes, a couple of times I heard «Go back to your Ukraine» — but I didn’t take it personally. And in principle, today you can’t know for sure where it will be peaceful in 5-10-15 years.

Georgia attracts lots of investment from Chinese, Arabs from the Emirates, and Israelis who are buying commercial and residential real estate here. The market is growing. And the only thing I regret is not doing this in 2022: we would have bought the same apartment for $30,000 less and would have spent $30,000 less on rent — so we would have gained at least $60,000.

«The mortgage payment is large — almost half my salary, renting is about twice as cost-effective»

Inga*, ex-PM, now a developer; location — Tbilisi:

— My husband and I moved to Georgia in March 2022, like many others — fleeing in a hurry and in panic. My company relocated here too, but we still didn’t know what to expect in Tbilisi, where we would live, and most importantly, how long we would stay.

But after a year, it became clear that nothing would change in Belarus — that we wouldn’t return to our homeland. So we needed to do something about our property there and, accordingly, figure out how to settle in the new country. Georgia was quite suitable for us as a new home: we’re comfortable here, there are no problems with legalization, and the bureaucracy is very simple.

With these thoughts, we put our small (and inexpensive) house near Minsk up for sale and began studying the Georgian real estate market.

Many properties didn’t suit us. The thing is, we have a large dog and face challenges with walking it, so we needed a park nearby. We drove all over Tbilisi and realized only one district was ideal for us. I monitored websites day and night — and found the perfect apartment.

Since our property in Belarus hadn’t sold by that time (and the money from its sale wouldn’t have been enough to cover all costs anyway), we began exploring mortgage options. And yes, we took one out.

It turned out to be very simple. We use the VIP branch of Bank of Georgia, where each client has their own manager who handles many issues remotely. We contacted him, told him which property we were interested in, and the bank sent its appraiser (the appraisal is naturally lower than market value because they factor in their risks). Then they gave us specifics on what percentage of the amount they could cover — usually 70% to 85% of the appraised value.

The transaction itself took place at the bank branch. By that time, we had already deposited the down payment into the account — and the bank transferred both this money and the remaining amount to the seller.

Of course, we needed to read the mortgage agreement — you can’t just sign it without reading.

And that’s it! Georgia has electronic document processing — within 4-5 days, we received a text message that our property was registered. We didn’t have to go to the cadastral agency like in Belarus. Knowing the cadastral number of the apartment, you can go to the website, view the extract, and save the certificate — this is your property document.

In Georgia, mortgages are issued for 15 years in lari or for 10 years in foreign currency. We initially signed a 15-year contract in lari — and in 2024, we refinanced the mortgage and took out a 10-year loan in euros.

We don’t regret our decision: in the first year, our apartment increased in value by 40%. I know this because we ordered an apartment appraisal for our residence permit application. And now I periodically monitor the market — prices in our area are simply crazy. We couldn’t afford such a purchase now.

Yes, it cost us (and still costs) effort. But we understand: even if things don’t work out with Georgia — it’s a good investment anyway.

In Georgia, people treat us in a friendly way. Yes, sometimes they comment that I should learn Georgian, but I have a ready answer: «I’m learning.» So I don’t have concerns that the attitude toward Belarusians or conditions will change — not for the worse, or in a way that we’d risk losing our apartment.

«It’s like a 'luxury vacation home' by the sea for the off-season — an excellent option»

Alisa* and Ivan*, a tech family; location — Batumi:

— The dream of «living by the sea» is probably basic for most people. So on one gloomy winter day several years ago, we decided it was time to make it happen — and flew to Georgia.

In Batumi and surrounding areas, there are numerous projects offering investment in seaside apartments for personal use or rental. Many people buy apartments online at the foundation stage at minimum price per square meter, and then resell them at a higher price. But we wanted a ready or nearly ready property for ourselves, on the first coastline, with a frontal sea view, and in a place where they wouldn’t suddenly build a high-rise with windows facing ours — which is typical in Batumi.

We found an agent who showed us construction sites and finished properties simply through the internet. He offered options and organized viewings. We visited the 47th floor of a futuristic skyscraper with drywall between adjacent apartments, and freshly poured concrete frames with protruding rebar.

We encountered difficulties at the contract signing stage — it was written very poorly, and the developer, who had fed us khinkali the day before, refused to make any minimal changes. Even the agent couldn’t help. So we took a slightly more expensive option from another developer in a more interesting location.

The renovation was a separate quest with a Georgian flavor throughout: dolphins drawn by builders on freshly plastered walls, missed deadlines, the last available boiler in the city, a burnt-out towel warmer, searching for a suitable bed, mirror, sink, countertop, oven — all completely standard, not designer items. We still don’t have a dining table because we can’t find one that fits the space. However, the foreman became a family friend.

We didn’t plan to live in Batumi permanently. After big cities, it’s simply uncomfortable — you need to collect a basic set of products from several stores and markets, there’s heavy traffic, it’s dirty, and there are issues with good schools for children, and so on. But as a «luxury vacation home» by the sea for the off-season — it’s an excellent option. Although the luxury is diminished by an ineffective management company, construction all around, frequent power outages, and sometimes the smell of a landfill.

But overall, we don’t regret the purchase: seaside land is limited, and real estate on it is liquid anyway, plus it will be very interesting to see what the resort turns into in 15 years (they’re now creating artificial islands near the port, and planning to build a city within a city with a marina entrance for yachts beyond the airport). And of course, the ability to fall asleep, wake up, and have breakfast in our apartment to the sound of the sea and with the view forgives Batumi all its shortcomings.

* The speakers' names have been changed at their request.