Sales of new apartments grow in Georgia

Baku, Azerbaijan, September 17

By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:

The sales of new apartments grew by 5.2 percent in area and by 5.4 percent in units year-on-year in Georgia in first half of 2019, constituting 722,000 sqm in 10,086 units, Trend reports referring to TBC research.

The overall share of these apartments was 64 percent in unit sales and 62 percent in living area, up from 63 percent and 59 percent respectively in 1H2019.

In turn, the sales of old apartments decreased by 2.4 percent year-on-year in square meters and by 7.1 percent in units, constituting 398,000 sqm in 6,210 units.

The new apartment sales continued to grow year-on-year at a moderate tempo in the second quarter of 2019, whereas sales of old apartments declined again. Georgian regions Saburtalo, Gldani and Didi Dighomi topped the sales, with the latter also accounting for the highest percentage of new apartment transactions.

Throughout the first half of 2019, large units were more commonly purchased in central districts as opposed to suburban districts, where mostly smaller apartments were sold.

The National Bank of Georgia house price index level was higher by 2.6 percent in lari and lower by 1.4 percent in USD in nominal terms, and higher by 0.3 percent in lari, in real terms, as compared to December 2018. The opposite directions of price change in different currencies are explained by the foreign exchange rate dynamics.

Throughout the first half of 2019, the weighted Average Selling Price (ASP) for residential property in Tbilisi increased by 0.9 percent in USD and by 4.5 percent in lari to $707/sqm and 1,905 lari/sqm respectively. The ASP of new apartments was $736/sqm (+2.2 percent) in foreign currency and 1,982 lari/sqm (+6 percent) in domestic currency.

Old apartments had an ASP of $656/sqm (-1.6 percent) and 1,765 lari/sqm (+1.75 percent). The difference in rates is again attributable to the exchange rate fluctuations, the report said.