Buying Property Under Construction: Opportunities and Risks

An apartment can be bought at practically any of these stages. As the project's stage changes, so does the balance between price, choice, wait time and uncertainty.

Early on, more layouts and unit positions are usually available. Closer to completion, buyers can better see what the unit will actually look like, but the choice may be smaller and the commercial terms different.

Buying early isn't just a way to pay less. It's a different kind of deal, where part of the result still lies in the future.

Entry price: developers can set different prices at different construction stages.

Installments: part of the price can often be paid during construction.

Choice: more floors, areas and layouts are usually available at launch.

Growth potential: a unit's value can change as the project and the location develop.

None of these factors is automatically guaranteed. Price depends on the specific developer's policy, installments depend on the project, and future price growth depends on the market and demand.

This is the main argument usually used to sell off-plan property. The logic is simple: buy early, wait for construction, end up with a more valuable unit.

But the gap between the launch price and a finished apartment's price isn't yet an investor's profit.

Say: purchase price — $80,000. Two years later, comparable apartments are offered at $100,000. On paper that's +$20,000 / +25%. But to assess the real result, you need to know:

Price growth on the developer's price list and actual profit on sale aren't the same thing.

For many buyers, the advantage of an off-plan unit isn't potential price growth at all — it's not having to pay the full amount at once.

For example, the structure might look like: a down payment → payments during construction → a balance due by a date set in the contract. Terms differ project to project.

Georgia's National Agency of Public Registry even publishes separate sample contracts for buying property in installments, as well as with installments and a mortgage.

So when comparing two new developments, we look beyond the price per square meter, at: the down payment → monthly payments → the term → the final balance → the full price.

At launch, a buyer potentially has more choice:

This can matter a lot for investment property. Two studios of the same size in one complex aren't necessarily equally attractive to a future tenant or buyer.

So we don't just look for "a 35 m² studio" — we compare the unit's specific position within the project.

With a finished apartment, you can see the building, the unit, the view, the courtyard, the infrastructure and the finish quality.

Under construction, part of that exists only in the project documentation, the contract, the floor plans, the renderings, and the developer's obligations.

That's exactly why a nice rendering isn't the main document in the deal.

The earlier the construction stage, the more important it is to check what stands behind the project's visuals.

A project's completion date should be treated not as marketing copy on a website, but as a contract term. Before buying, check:

For an investor, a delay also has a financial impact. If the unit was meant to start earning rent in 18 months but is actually ready much later, the whole investment's economics change.

A nice-looking project says nothing on its own about a company's ability to deliver it. We look at:

It's especially important not to confuse a project's brand with the legal entity the buyer is actually signing a contract with.

Before buying, the land plot's cadastral data and registered rights need checking. In Georgia, property information and rights are recorded through the National Agency of Public Registry.

There is also one mechanism every buyer should know about, as it directly affects how their rights are protected.

A sales office can say almost anything. What has legal weight is the deal's terms and the documents. So we check how the contract fixes:

It is not enough to simply "read the contract carefully" — every promise made by the sales team should be checked against what is actually written in the documents.

The apartment costs $70,000. But the developer hands it over as a white frame unit. On top of that, you also need:

And a unit that was advertised at $70,000 can actually require a noticeably larger budget before it's fit to live in or rent out.

So new developments should be compared by the cost of a ready-to-use unit, not just the purchase price.

Galt & Taggart notes that Batumi retains a significant volume of unsold supply under construction. Analysts expect new projects completing over the coming years to add to supply on both the sales and rental markets.

That's too simplistic. By the time a project completes, an investor can end up competing with the developer itself, other investors in the same complex, new projects nearby, and finished units on the resale market.

That's exactly why, when buying, it's worth understanding: who am I actually going to sell or rent this apartment to once construction is finished?

There's no simple "off-plan is always the best deal" answer here.

There's no single best stage for everyone. An investor with a long horizon may suit an early entry. A buyer for their own living cares more about a high degree of readiness. And someone who needs rental income now may find an off-plan unit doesn't fit the task at all.

Buying at an early stage can be built around two strategies.

Price growth and the ability to resell quickly aren't guaranteed.

We don't treat a future price as a fact. You need to ask:

This moves the conversation from marketing to economics.

Say there are three projects:

Project A: $1,500/m², handover in 3 years.

Project B: $1,750/m², handover in a year.

Project C: $2,000/m², already finished.

The cheapest price per square meter doesn't necessarily mean the best option.

We compare: the full price, the payment schedule, the wait time, renovation, potential rent, liquidity, the district, and the project's risks — and only then understand whether the earlier price justifies the extra wait.