Batumi sold fewer flats in August but for more money — and the growth was all in older buildings

August produced 1,235 registered apartment transactions, 4.3% fewer than August 2025, yet the money that changed hands rose 2.9% to 81 million dollars. The average weighted price in new buildings rose 1.2% over the year to 1,386 dollars a square metre. Put together, the month is not a market losing interest; it is a market where the mix of what sells has shifted towards larger or better-finished units and away from the volume end.

Transactions in older apartments rose 31.4% year on year while new builds fell 6.3%. Secondary-market prices in new projects rose 12.8%. A third of a year of that pattern and the Batumi stock built before the current cycle stops being the market's overlooked corner. The logic is not complicated: finished buildings have working lifts, a known service charge and a view you can stand on a balcony and verify, which matters more to a buyer who intends to let the flat this season rather than in three years.

The primary market in new projects shows transactions down 24.2% and prices down 16.3%, which read alone would describe a slump. Colliers attributes both to August 2025: several projects registered unusually many transactions that month, and one high-priced project distorted the price average. Strip that project out and primary prices rose 1.2% instead of falling 16.3%. It is worth knowing which number a seller or an agent is quoting at you, because the same month supports two completely different stories depending on which comparison base is used.

The August figures are the clearest recent argument against the assumption that an older Batumi flat is only worth what a developer's showroom says the new one down the road is worth. Resale transaction growth of 31.4% and secondary price growth of 12.8% mean there are buyers competing for exactly that stock. If you have been holding off on selling because you assumed you would be undercut by new supply, the sensible next step is a valuation based on recent resale comparables in your own building rather than on the primary-market headline.