In short: from January to August 2026, 10,883 apartments were sold in Batumi, 3.6% more than a year earlier. Turnkey new builds rose to $1,986 per square metre, up 11.2% year on year. Daily rents, however, barely moved, so the average gross rental yield fell to 7.1%. Below are the main figures of the new Galt & Taggart review and our view on how to use them when choosing an apartment.
About the research
Galt & Taggart belongs to the same financial group as Bank of Georgia and publishes reviews of the Batumi and Tbilisi housing markets several times a year. The Batumi review for the first eight months of 2026 came out on 5 November 2026: Batumi Residential Real Estate, 8M26 Overview. It covers Batumi itself, Makhinjauri and the Gonio-Kvariati area.
The analysts use two sources: deals registered in the Public Registry, and their own survey of developers building more than 40 residential projects in the city, about 40% of the new-build market. The survey matters because purchases from developers are registered with a delay, so the registry shows them later than they happen.
Sales: resale grows, developer demand is stronger than the registry shows
- Total for 8 months: 10,883 apartments, up 3.6% on January to August 2025 (10,509 a year earlier, 9,494 two years earlier).
- Resale market: 5,459 deals, up 11.8%. These figures reflect the market almost in real time.
- New builds, registry data: 5,424 deals, down 3.6%, understated because of late registration.
- New builds, developer survey: sales up 30% year on year.
- Market size: about $867 million for 8 months against $761 million a year earlier, almost 14% more.
Galt & Taggart links the growth to new large projects, interest from both local and foreign buyers and more active marketing by developers. The New Boulevard area had the most deals: 4,417 apartments in 8 months, new builds and resale combined.
Prices: new builds rise faster than resale
August 2026 figures:
- turnkey new builds: $1,986 per m², up 11.2% in a year ($1,660 in August 2024, $1,786 in August 2025);
- resale in newer buildings (construction permits issued after 2013): $1,614 per m², up 7.0% in a year.
The gap between the two markets has grown to about $370 per square metre. For a buyer this means that a finished apartment in a recent building often costs noticeably less than one of the same size from a developer, while the developer offers interest-free instalments and a choice of layouts.
Rents: flat daily rates, lower yields
Galt & Taggart tracks daily rentals of apartments with up to two bedrooms using AirDNA data. The average daily rate has hardly changed: $38.1 in 2024, $38.2 in 2025 and $38.4 in 2026. Purchase prices keep rising, so the gross rental yield fell to 7.1% from 7.7% in 2025.
Even after the decline, Batumi remains among the leaders of the resort cities in the comparison: only Dubai is higher at 7.7%, followed by Porto (6.9%), Limassol (6.2%), Antalya (5.8%), Varna (4.6%), Budva (4.3%) and Dubrovnik (3.6%).
Keep in mind that this is a gross yield, calculated before management fees, utilities, cleaning and taxes. The owner’s net income is lower.
How the analysts see the near future
Galt & Taggart is cautious: keeping the current pace of price growth on the new-build market may be difficult because the gap with resale is widening, many projects are under construction and rental yields are gradually declining. This is the analysts’ assessment, not a promise: prices can behave differently in different districts and projects.
What this means if you are choosing an apartment in Batumi
- Calculate the yield from your own purchase price. Rents are similar in neighbouring buildings, so the higher the price per square metre, the lower the yield.
- Compare a new build with resale in the same district. A difference of $300 to $400 per metre can be justified by instalments and the construction stage, but it is worth seeing before you decide.
- Look at real occupancy and management. Income from daily rentals depends on the season, the management company and the distance to the sea more than on city averages.
- Mind the completion date. If handover is two or three years away, instalments ease the load, but rental income starts only after completion.
Prices, layouts and payment plans of the city’s projects are in our catalogue, and a manager will help you compare options for your budget and goal: living, renting out, or both.
Source: Galt & Taggart, Batumi Residential Real Estate, 8M26 Overview, 5 November 2026. Deal data: National Agency of Public Registry (NAPR); rental data: AirDNA.
