The dossier · updated 2026
Why Georgia. Numbers, not opinions.
Every figure on this page carries a primary source and a year. Anything not verifiable across at least two independent sources doesn’t make it in. It’s the same standard I apply to my clients’ operations.
01 · Tax
Italy 43%. Georgia 20%, 5%, 1% — or zero.
The comparison below uses 2026 rates. Italy’s new 33% IRPEF bracket changes little for high earners: above €50,000 you’re still at 43%, plus surtaxes. In Georgia, an Individual Entrepreneur with Small Business Status pays 1% on turnover up to GEL 500,000 a year. Residential rents: 5%. Real estate capital gains after two years of ownership: zero.
The figure that matters most for income buyers. Italy: 21% flat (26% from the second short-let unit). Georgia: 5% on residential rent without deductions (PwC 2026).
Source: PwC Tax Summaries Georgia (gen 2026); Codice Tributario della Georgia; L. 199/2025 (Legge di Bilancio 2026, Italia); PwC Tax Summaries UAE
What it means for you: on €100,000 of rental income over ten years, the gap between Italy’s 21% flat tax and Georgia’s 5% alone is worth €16,000 — before we even discuss yields.
02 · Economy
An economy growing 9.3% a year on average since 2021.
In 2025, Georgian real GDP grew 7.5%, after +9.7% in 2024 and +7.8% in 2023. For scale: most Western economies haven’t seen growth like this in decades. It’s not an isolated spike — it’s a five-year trend documented by Geostat and tracked by the World Bank and the IMF.
Georgia real GDP · annual % change
2021–25 avg: +9.3%
Source: Geostat — National Statistics Office of Georgia, stime PIL reale, gen 2026
What it means for you: macro fundamentals support housing demand. You’re not buying a bet — you’re buying into a structurally expanding economy.
03 · Real Estate
Batumi: entry at $1,865/sqm, gross yields up to 8.6%.
The average turnkey new-build price in Batumi closed 2025 at $1,865/sqm (+9.4% YoY), with the Old Batumi submarket at $3,028/sqm. Average gross rental yield reached 8.6% in June 2025 — in line with the most dynamic tourist markets and above major Italian cities. And the entry price remains a fraction of competing resorts.
per sqm, 2025 primary average
+9,4%
primary price growth, 2025
per sqm, Old Batumi (top district)
7,4–8,6%
gross rental yield, 2025
Entry price · $/sqm, 1-bed city centre
Source: TBC Capital, gen 2026 — prezzo medio al mq, 1 camera, zona centrale
Gross rental yield · %
Source: Batumi: Galt & Taggart 2025 · Bali: report di mercato 2025–26 (zone turistiche) · Roma e Milano: Idealista, I trim. 2026 · Tirana: Global Property Guide / Numbeo 2025 · Montenegro: Global Property Guide, Q4 2025
Note: gross yields, on bases and periods not always uniform across sources. In Batumi you buy full freehold; in Bali, for example, foreigners can only access leasehold or use rights — a similar yield on a different kind of title.
Source: Galt & Taggart, Batumi Residential Real Estate 2025; Global Property Guide, mag 2026
What it means for you: the same function — an income-producing second home on a tourist coast — at a fifth of the capital required in Split. The question is which project, in which district. That’s where you win or lose.
The truth brochures don’t print
I’ll tell you before you find out with a signed contract: Galt & Taggart flags oversupply in the primary market, and short-stay rental stock is projected to double by 2029. Translation: buying "at random" in Batumi today is the best way to compress tomorrow’s yields. Which is exactly why my job isn’t selling you any apartment — it’s selecting the district, developer and format that hold up even in an abundant-supply scenario.
04 · Tourism
2025: record year. 5.5 million tourist visits.
Georgia closed 2025 with 7.8 million international travellers (+5.9%) and 5.52 million tourist visits — an all-time high, +8.4% on the previous year. High-spend markets grew fastest: +39% from Italy, +39% from the UK, +49% from Spain, plus the Gulf and Asia. Q4 2025 was the strongest quarter on record.
International travellers · millions
2025 record: 5.52M tourist visits (+8.4%)
Source: GNTA — Georgian National Tourism Administration, dati annuali 2025 (gen 2026)
Batumi — Europe’s Leading All-Season Destination
At the 2025 World Travel Awards — the “tourism Oscars” — Batumi beat cities like Budapest, Munich, Oslo and Stockholm. The European gala was held in Italy.
Source: World Travel Awards 2025 (Europe Gala, Batumi/Italia)
What it means for you: your apartment’s tenant exists, is documented, and is diversifying by nationality. Seasonality is shortening — and vacancy periods with it.
05 · Process
Buying property: 1 procedure. Registering title: 1 day.
Georgia ranked 7th worldwide in the last Doing Business (2020) and among the top 5 for registering property: one procedure, one day. In the World Bank’s new B-READY 2024 it sits in the leading group with Singapore and Estonia. Foreigners can buy residential property outright, with no restrictions and no local company. A property with a market value of at least $100,000 opens access to the real-estate-based residence permit.
Registry check
Real-time Public Registry extract: ownership, liens, mortgages. Online, in English.
Contract and deed
Sale signed before a notary or directly at the Public Service Hall. No months-long waits.
Registration
Expedited procedure: title registered the same day. Standard: a few business days.
Optional residency
With property ≥ $100,000: application for the real-estate-based residence permit. The threshold must be checked at the time — we do it in the consultation.
Source: World Bank Doing Business 2020; World Bank B-READY 2024; NAPR — National Agency of Public Registry
What it means for you: bureaucratic risk — the kind you know too well at home — is a minor variable here. The real risk is asset selection. And that’s my trade.
Full freehold, not leasehold
An often-overlooked point: in Georgia a foreigner buys the property in full freehold, exactly like a Georgian citizen. It’s not leasehold, not a time-limited right, not the restricted formulas typical of markets like Bali, Dubai (in certain areas) or Thailand. The property is yours, registered in your name in the public registry, with no expiry and no mandatory local company.
The payment procedure, step by step
- 01 · Reservation feeYou lock the unit with a (typically modest) reservation fee that holds price and availability while the rest is verified.
- 02 · ContractYou sign the sale contract: terms, milestones, penalties. This is when due diligence happens — not after.
- 03 · Instalment planOn new-builds many developers offer in-house instalment plans during construction, often interest-free — an accessibility lever that lowers the initial capital.
- 04 · Payment in USDDeals are commonly settled in US dollars; some developers also accept crypto payments. A source-of-funds dossier should always be prepared.
- 05 · RegistrationTitle transfer is registered at the Public Service Hall: expedited the same day, standard within a few business days.
Verified rankings
What institutions say. Not salespeople.
Top 3
Top 3 of 50 economies — World Bank B-READY 2024 (with Singapore and Estonia); top 10 in 7 of 10 indicators
7th
7th worldwide — World Bank Doing Business 2020 (final year of the series)
1 day
Registering property: 1 procedure, 1 day — World Bank DB2020, among the top 5 globally
21st
21st of 165 — Fraser Institute Economic Freedom of the World 2024 (Italy: 46th, 2025 ed.)
Next-generation projects
What Batumi will be in five years is being built now.
Iconic resorts on artificial islands, seafront towers, a yacht marina: some of the Black Sea coast’s most ambitious projects are already under construction. They’re often launched in preview, with early-access terms for those who move before the public launch. These are developer renders, not guarantees — but they signal the direction of a market that keeps attracting capital.
Developer renders of projects under development in Batumi. Images are illustrative and do not constitute a guarantee of the final result.
Free guides
Georgia: the guide for people who want to truly understand it
A complete overview of the country: taxation (with the real rates, source PwC), visas and residency, cost of living, banking — and the cons, written with the same care as the pros.
The data says "interesting". Only analysis says "for you".
Everything you’ve read holds at market level. Whether it holds for your situation — tax residency, structure, horizon, liquidity — takes 45 minutes of consultation to find out. Free, and with nothing for me to sell you at the end of the call.