How to sell an apartment in Batumi: liquidity and costs

As of 18 October 2026, this is a reference on selling an apartment in Batumi. It does not promise that a flat will sell quickly or at the price you want. It does not replace a lawyer or a tax adviser. In short: we found the sale tax, the registry fees and the rules on assigning rights in primary sources. But sale times, discounts to the price and developers' terms for assignment we did not find in open sources, so instead of figures we give questions to ask in writing.

Tax on selling a finished apartment

We covered this in detail in the guide reselling a finished apartment in Georgia: tax and procedure. The main points:

• Order No. 497 of the Minister of Finance of 26 December 2023 (in force from 1 January 2024) shows by example that an individual's profit from selling a residential apartment owned for less than two years is taxed at 5%.
• If the apartment was owned for more than two years, this income is not subject to income tax.
• The period runs from the date of the document certifying ownership (Article 82 of the Tax Code, as set out in the order). The profit is the sale price minus the purchase price.
• In the order's example, the tax for a 2023 sale is paid with the return by 15 April 2024. For the filing procedure for your sale, ask the Revenue Service.

Amendment No. 175 of 8 June 2026 to the Ministry's explanation says that owning several apartments, their number, the holding period and a later sale do not by themselves make the activity entrepreneurial. A sale within entrepreneurial activity does not fall under this rule. How this applies to you is for a tax adviser. For the overall tax picture of a foreign owner, see the guide property taxes in Georgia for a foreign owner.

Fees for registering the deal

The NAPR page on fees for registering rights to immovable property gives these rates for registering a change, origin or termination of a right:

• 150 GEL for registration in 4 working days;
• 270 GEL for 1 working day;
• 350 GEL on the day of filing.

The same amounts are listed for registering an obligation related to the ownership right. The page has no separate line for a sale contract of an apartment. We did not confirm which party pays the fee: that is set by the contract. The page does not show when the rates were updated, so check the amounts before filing.

Under the Civil Code (Article 183), a transaction in immovable property is made in writing, and the acquirer's right is registered in the Public Registry.

Ways to sell

On your own. You look for the buyer, prepare the documents and run the deal. You save on an agent, but you take on the search and the checking of the buyer.

Through an agent. The agent looks for a buyer and supports the deal. We found no data in open sources on the fee size or how it is paid. Put the terms in a written agreement with the agent.

Assigning rights in an unfinished building. If you sell your right under the developer's contract before the building is handed over, you transfer not an apartment but your rights under that contract.

Assigning rights in an unfinished building

Under the Civil Code (Article 199), a creditor may assign a claim to a third party without the debtor's consent, unless this contradicts the essence of the obligation, an agreement with the debtor or the law. A ban on assignment in a contract is valid only if the debtor has a legitimate interest. Further:

• the new creditor takes the place of the former one, and security passes with the claim (Articles 199 and 201);
• until the debtor is notified of the assignment, it may pay the former creditor (Article 200);
• the debtor may raise against the new creditor the defences it had against the former one (Article 201);
• if one claim is assigned twice, priority rules apply (Article 202).

For a contract with a developer this means that the contract terms and the developer's consent may be decisive. What a specific developer requires (consent, fee, form, deadlines, notice) we did not find in open sources: clarify it in the contract and with the developer in writing. We did not confirm from primary sources the tax on income from assigning rights. Ask a lawyer how an assignment relates to the developer's registered obligation.

Liquidity: what is known

The size of the market is known. In 2025, according to Galt & Taggart, Batumi had 17,478 sales (as reported by GBC), and according to Colliers Georgia 17,052 sales (as reported by GBC). A fresher figure from the original report: according to Galt & Taggart (2Q26, 14.08.2026), 4,168 apartments were sold in Batumi in the second quarter of 2026, of them 1,968 on the primary market and 2,200 on the secondary market. For more on the market, see the guide Batumi new-build market 2026.

These numbers show how many deals were registered, but not how long a flat takes to sell and at what discount. We found no such data in open sources. Treat any figure on "time to sell" or "discount" with no named source as a guess. The liquidity of a specific flat depends on its price, district, floor, condition and the stage of the building, and we do not promise it.

Questions for three agents (in writing)

Ask them to three agents and compare the answers.

1. How many flats like mine in district, area and stage did you sell in the last year?
2. In what time and in what price range?
3. What was the gap between the asking price and the deal price in those cases?
4. How do you set the price and what is it based on?
5. What fee do you charge, and when and by whom is it paid?
6. Which documents do you ask for and what do you check on the buyer?
7. What does your agreement include, how can it be ended and for how long does it run?
8. Which of your buyers are foreigners and how do they pay?

What to prepare

• the document of title and the date you received it: the holding period is counted from it;
• the developer's documents and the contract, if you sell rights before handover;
• a registry extract for the flat and information on encumbrances;
• an agreement on who pays the registration fee.

What to clarify with an adviser, a lawyer and the developer

• What tax arises on your sale and how the return is filed.
• Whether the two-year rule applies and from which date it is counted.
• How income from assigning rights in an unfinished building is taxed.
• What terms your developer has for assignment.
• Who pays the registration fee and which documents are needed.

Questions and answers

How long does an apartment take to sell in Batumi? We found no such data in open sources.

What tax does the seller pay? Under Order No. 497, 5% on profit if owned for less than two years, and no income tax on the income if owned for more than two years. Confirm with an adviser.

How much does registration cost? According to NAPR, 150, 270 or 350 GEL depending on the term. The contract sets who pays.

Can I sell a flat in an unfinished building? The rights under the contract can be assigned, but the terms depend on the contract and the developer. Clarify in writing.

Does this guide guarantee a sale? No. It is a reference text and promises neither a time nor a price.

Read also

• Reselling a finished apartment in Georgia: tax and procedure
• Property taxes in Georgia for a foreign owner