Mortgages and instalments for foreigners

Non-residents do get mortgages in Georgia — it is routine rather than exceptional. The terms are tighter than for locals: a larger down payment and a shorter term. Often the smarter option is not a bank at all, but an interest-free instalment plan from the developer.

Who lends

Applications from non-residents are considered by the largest banks — Bank of Georgia, TBC, Liberty, Credo and Halyk. Some run dedicated expat products; the rest handle such applications under standard programmes. Decisions are individual, and what counts is verified income, credit history and the provenance of the down payment.

Down payment and term

A typical down payment for a non-resident is 30–40% of the bank appraisal. One detail matters: the bank values the property by its own method, and that figure is often below the market price, so your actual share of own funds ends up higher than the price list suggests.

Loan terms usually run up to ten years, rarely fifteen. That is markedly shorter than European practice and weighs heavily on the monthly payment.

Rates

The average rate on new GEL mortgages in March 2026 was 11.88% a year — 1.45 percentage points lower than a year earlier. Foreign-currency loans in dollars or euros run roughly 9–13%.

Rates move with National Bank policy, so any figure here is a reference point on a date, not an offer. The bank quotes a real rate only after underwriting.

Documents the bank will ask for

A passport, proof of income for the last 6–12 months with translation and legalisation, bank statements, and evidence of where the down payment came from. The bank will separately commission its own appraisal.

Developer instalments are often cheaper

Interest-free instalment plans are common on the primary market. In the projects we work with that means, for example, 0% over up to 42 months with a 30% first payment on the coast, and up to three years in the mountains. There is no overpayment at all and the paperwork is minimal, but the horizon is shorter than a bank’s and the instalment correspondingly larger.

The practical rule is simple: for a horizon of up to three years an instalment plan almost always wins; for a longer schedule you need a bank.