According to a fresh report from the investment company Galt & Taggart, the structure of housing demand in Georgia's Black Sea city has undergone significant changes. During the first six months of 2026, the share of Georgian citizens among apartment buyers in Batumi shrank to 33%, which is 10 percentage points less than in the same period last year.
At the same time, there has been a notable influx of foreign investors. Buyers from Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus accounted for 18% of all transactions in January-June, compared to 13% a year earlier. This indicates that the expansion of Eastern European demand continues to gain momentum.
Among other foreign groups, Europeans lead the way, accounting for 15% of transactions - a figure that remained unchanged from the entirety of 2025. They are followed by Israeli buyers with a 10% share, residents of the Middle East and Arab states (7%), and Turkish investors (5%). The remaining 12% came from buyers of other nationalities.
Despite the shifting buyer profile, Batumi's new-build market continues to demonstrate steady growth, although analysts emphasize that current sales volumes remain far from the record highs of 2022–2023. Experts from the portal News Georgia warn about the risks of overheating due to the large volume of new construction coming online.
In the second quarter of 2026, 4,168 apartments were sold in Batumi - 3.7% more than a year earlier. Pricing dynamics also remain positive: in June, the average cost per square meter in newly built, finished apartments reached $1,960, up 9.8% year-on-year. On the secondary market, the price per square meter averaged $1,497, which is 6.5% higher than last year's levels.
In contrast to the sales segment, the rental sector is experiencing a downturn. The average daily rental rate in the second quarter decreased by 4.2%, and the rental yield dropped to 7.1%.
