Batumi or Antalya for an investor: what to compare

As of 20 October 2026, this is a reference on choosing between a flat in Batumi and one in Antalya. It is not legal or tax advice. In short: the two countries differ in almost every rule that matters to a buyer. That covers how you buy, tax, the residence-permit threshold and short-term letting. We include only what we confirmed in the laws and in central bank data. We also mark where a comparison is not possible. We do not say which country is better. That depends on your goals, and at the end there are questions to help you set them.

How to read this guide

For Türkiye we read the laws on the official legislation portal and the data of the Turkish central bank. For Georgia we used only what we have already checked in other GeCoast guides. Where we could not find an official text, we say so. We do not compare the two cities' price per square metre: there are no comparable data (see below).

Side by side

	Batumi (Georgia)	Antalya (Türkiye)
Who can buy	A foreigner may own an apartment and non-agricultural land; agricultural land is restricted	Citizens of countries on a list set by the President of Türkiye; limits on land area
Required steps	Registration of the right with the National Agency of Public Registry	Registration at the land registry (tapu), a valuation report in a deal with a foreigner, compulsory earthquake insurance (DASK)
Fee for the transfer	Registration of the right: 150, 270 or 350 lari depending on speed	2% from the buyer and 2% from the seller
Property tax	We have not confirmed the 2026 rules	0.2% a year of the tax value of a home in Antalya
Tax on resale	5% of the gain; none after more than two years of owning a home	The gain is taxed if you sell within five years
Tax on rent	5% without deductions (Order No. 412)	Progressive scale of 15–40%
Residence permit by purchase	Market value above $150,000 by valuation	The ministry sets the threshold; we found no official text
Short-term letting	We have not confirmed any permit rules	A permit and the unanimous consent of the building's owners
Currency	Lari; catalog prices in US dollars	Lira; inflation 29.73% a year (September 2026)

The details for each row follow.

Buying and a foreigner's rights

Batumi. According to the guides we have checked, a foreigner may own an apartment and non-agricultural land. The restrictions concern agricultural land. The right is registered with the National Agency of Public Registry. The registration fee is 150, 270 or 350 lari, depending on how fast you need it. How buying in a building under construction works is covered in the guide on buying off-plan.

Antalya. The Land Registry Law (Art. 35) allows foreign individuals to buy if they are citizens of a country on the President's list. Check that your citizenship is on it. The same law limits the area: up to 30 hectares of land per person across the country. There is also a ceiling for all foreigners together in one district.

Three more required parts of a deal in Türkiye:

• Military and strategic zones. The land registry handles deals using maps of such zones from the defence and interior ministries. A flat in such a zone is not open to a foreigner, and this is checked at registration.
• Valuation report. In deals with foreigners the land registry uses reports by licensed valuers (circular 2024/2, amended September 2026). How the report affects the price in your deal is a question for a lawyer.
• Earthquake insurance (DASK). It is compulsory for flats and renewed every year. Without a valid policy the land registry will not register the transfer (Law No. 6305, Art. 11).

Taxes

Transfer fee in Türkiye. The Law on Fees sets 2% for the buyer and 2% for the seller. Each pays their own part. The base is the contract price, but not less than the property's tax value. The President may change the rate, so check it on the date of the deal.

Property tax in Türkiye. For homes it is 0.1% of the tax value. In cities with büyükşehir (metropolitan) status the rate is doubled. Antalya is one of them, so the rate is 0.2% a year. The tax value is not the market price. The municipality works it out by its own rules.

Property tax in Georgia. We have not confirmed the 2026 rules in official texts. Check with the Revenue Service.

Resale. In Türkiye the gain is subject to income tax if you sell within five years of buying. In Georgia, under Order No. 497, the gain on selling a home is taxed at 5%. After more than two years of ownership it is not taxed.

Rent. In Türkiye rental income is taxed on a progressive scale from 15% to 40% (the 2026 scale). For homes there is a yearly tax-free amount of 58,000 lira in 2026, with conditions. Whether it applies to a non-resident and to short-term letting is a question for a tax adviser. In Georgia, Order No. 412 sets 5% for an individual's income from renting out a home without deductions. We have not confirmed how this applies to short-term letting.

More on Georgia in the guide on property taxes in Georgia for a foreign owner.

Residence permits and citizenship

Georgia. A short-term residence permit is issued to the owner of property whose market value is above $150,000 in lari. This threshold applies from 1 March 2026; before that it was $100,000. A certified valuer sets the value. The investment residence permit starts at $300,000 and runs for five years. Details and documents are in the guide on the residence permit through property in Georgia.

Türkiye. The Law on Foreigners (Art. 31) allows a short-term residence permit for a property owner. The law allows up to two years at a time; the implementing regulation says up to one year. The property must be a home and be used to live in. The ministry sets the requirements for the value and type of the property.

We could not confirm the current threshold in an official text. Since October 2023 the Turkish press has reported $200,000 at the exchange rate on the purchase date. Check it with the migration authority before the deal.

Turkish citizenship. The rule is property worth at least $400,000. The land registry records that it will not be sold for at least three years. This threshold applies from 13 June 2022. This is a statement of the rule, not a recommendation. Check the full conditions with a lawyer. In our sources Georgia has no similar citizenship programme for buying property.

Letting

Türkiye: short-term letting. Law No. 7464 (passed in 2023) has applied since 1 January 2024. Letting a home for tourism, for up to 100 days, needs a permit from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. What it takes:

• a unanimous decision of all owners in the building. In a complex, it is the owners of the block where the flat is;
• in a building with more than three units, one owner gets permits for at most 25% of them;
• a standard plaque at the entrance to the flat.

The exception is "high-quality" complexes with a reception, security and services, where the management plan allows short-term letting. The fine for letting without a permit is 100,000 lira per home, according to the text of the law.

Georgia: short-term letting. We have not confirmed in a primary source whether registration or a licence is needed. The building's rules and the contract with the developer may restrict short-term letting, so ask for them before buying. How short-term and long-term letting compare is in the guide on renting out an apartment in Batumi.

Check yield promises the same way in both countries. Is it gross or net, and what figures is it based on? See the guide on how to check a promised rental yield.

Currency and inflation

Türkiye. According to the Turkish central bank, consumer price inflation was 29.73% a year in September 2026. In January 2026 it was 30.65%. The central bank's rate on 19 October 2026 was 49.55 lira to the dollar. A year earlier, on 20 October 2025, it was 41.95. Over the year the lira fell by about 15% against the dollar.

The central bank's house price index rose 22.3% over the year to September 2026, in lira. Adjusted for inflation, that is a fall of 5.7%. In the Antalya, Burdur and Isparta region the rise was 20.0% in lira. The index of rents for new tenants there rose 23.6%. These are regional figures in lira, not dollar prices for Antalya.

Georgia. New-build prices in the GeCoast catalog and in analysts' reports are quoted in dollars. Your costs in Georgia are paid in lari. We do not give Georgian inflation figures in this guide: they are not among our checked facts.

If your income and costs are in different currencies, the exchange rate affects the outcome more than it seems. We do not forecast exchange rates.

Liquidity and resale

Liquidity means how long a sale takes and at what discount. We found no such data for Batumi or Antalya in official sources. The number of deals shows the size of a market, not how fast a particular flat will sell.

The rules above show what affects resale. In Türkiye a sale in the first five years is taxed. A flat bought for citizenship cannot be sold for three years. In Georgia selling a home after more than two years of ownership is free of income tax. How to prepare a sale in Batumi is in the guide on how to sell an apartment in Batumi.

What the GeCoast catalog shows

These figures are for Batumi only, from the GeCoast catalog on 20 October 2026. They are stated "from" prices, not transaction prices. The catalog does not cover the whole market.

• 24 published new builds.
• Price per m² by project: from $1,000 to $3,850, median $2,100.
• "From" price for the 99 layouts that have one: from $46,020 to $472,410, median $107,300.

We found no comparable dollar prices per m² for Antalya in official sources. So these figures are not compared with Türkiye.

What to look at when choosing

• Your purpose. Living, short-term letting, long-term letting or a residence permit: each has different rules.
• The residence-permit threshold. In Georgia it is the market value by valuation. In Türkiye the ministry sets it, so check it on the date of the deal.
• Short-term letting. In Türkiye there is no permit without the consent of every owner in the building. Find out before you buy.
• Taxes over the whole period. The fee on purchase, property tax, tax on rent and tax on sale.
• Currency. Which currency your income, costs and future sale are in.
• How long you own. Five years in Türkiye and two years in Georgia change the tax on a sale.

Questions to ask yourself

• What matters most to me: rental income, living there or a residence permit?
• Do I plan short-term letting, and does the building allow it?
• How many years am I ready to own the flat before selling?
• Which currency is my income in, and how will I handle exchange-rate swings?
• Who will manage the flat while I am away?
• Am I ready to pay for a lawyer and a valuer in the chosen country?
• Does the residence-permit threshold suit me, and what if the valuation comes in below the purchase price?

The answers depend only on you. We draw no conclusion in favour of either country.

Questions and answers

Which city should I choose for buying a flat: Batumi or Antalya? There is no universal answer. The rules, taxes and currency differ, and the outcome depends on your goals and how long you own.

Can the price per m² of the two cities be compared? We have no comparable data. For Batumi there are dollar prices; for Antalya there is a regional index in lira.

Can I let a flat short-term in Antalya? Only with a ministry permit. It requires a unanimous decision of all owners in the building.

What is the residence-permit threshold through property? In Georgia, a market value above $150,000 by valuation. In Türkiye the ministry sets it; we found no official text.

Do I need a lawyer? We suggest a lawyer in either country. This guide is a reference, not advice.

What we did not confirm

• The official text of the value threshold for a Turkish residence permit (the press reports $200,000).
• Restrictions on residence permits in certain Turkish neighbourhoods, which lawyers write about.
• Prices of flats in Antalya in dollars or lira per m² from an official source.
• Whether the Turkish rental allowance applies to a non-resident and to short-term letting.
• Who in practice pays the Turkish transfer fee by agreement between the parties.
• Georgia's property tax rules for 2026.
• Whether registration or a licence is needed for short-term letting in Georgia.
• How long sales take and what discounts apply in either city.

Read also

• Batumi or Tbilisi for an investor: what to compare
• Residence permit through property in Georgia
• Property taxes in Georgia for a foreign owner
• How to sell an apartment in Batumi