This depends on several factors. First of all, the end of something is always the beginning of something else. World health experts predict that we will finally say goodbye to the pandemic in 2022, which means that normal life will resume within the new reality. Investors are using new strategies to evaluate countries and see how different markets are adapting to the new environment. They are looking for new discoveries. Where is Georgia in all of this?
International practice shows that the real estate sector has been considerably resilient in the face of the pandemic, which is also evident from the example of Georgia. The local development sector has maintained optimism over the last two years and continued operating under the new rules of the game. In fact, many of the players initiated new projects during the pandemic. Market prices have remained relatively stable. In certain cases, such as the private home developments in the suburbs of the capital, real estate prices actually went up. Properties in multifunctional complexes operating under international brand names also became more expensive. These are mainly being built in seaside tourist zones. The right measures implemented by the private sector and government incentives for businesses such as the mortgage subsidies have played an important role in stabilising the sector.
According to Galt & Taggart analyst, Kakhaber Samkurashvili, 2021 was a difficult year for the real estate market. The initial expectation was that the market would struggle once the mortgage subsidy programme finished. However, things turned out better than expected. “The residential real estate market has almost caught up with the pre-pandemic levels. There have also been positive moves on the commercial real estate market, although the reality for retailers and street properties continues to be difficult. We expect the commercial real estate market to start to recover and gradually return to the pre-pandemic levels when tourism is revitalised. Generally speaking, expectations for 2022 are quite positive. Economic recovery and revitalisation of tourism will have a positive effect on the real estate industry.”
The positive expectations of Galt & Taggart are shared by the country’s main real estate investment hub Property Georgia and FIABCI Georgia – the local representation of the International Real Estate Federation.
According to FIABCI-Georgia President and managing partner of Property Georgia Lika Kardava, the two organisations, together with their members and partner companies, will continue to actively support the real estate sector in 2022. “Our main targets will be to stimulate investment, raise awareness about the companies operating in our sector, share the best international development and construction practices / knowledge, and encouraging business contacts.”
Important activities and events have been planned with our strategic partners for 2022. A new chapter will be written in the 30-year history of the FIABCI Prix d’ Excellence Awards, with Georgia hosting the national edition of the real estate project awards for the first time. The FIABCI-Georgia Prix d’Excellence Awards will be organised in partnership with Bank of Georgia. Development firms will be able to participate, win at the national level, raise their profile in front of an international audience and take part at the global event. The list of the winning companies will be published in the FORBES Georgia magazine.
The main goal of the FIABCI–Georgia Prix d’ Excellence Awards is to promote the Georgian real estate market on the international stage. The gala event will be part of the international real estate week that will take place at Expo Georgia. Leading real estate players from more than 20 countries will gather in Georgia for this event, which will also include an investment forum and development project tours.
“The awards aim to identify sustainable and resilient buildings and projects , as well as people who spare no effort to reduce the ecological footprint. This event will act as a prerequisite for the companies’ future success and for strengthening the economy,” Lika Kardava stated.
FIABCI-Georgia CEO and managing partner of Property Georgia Ketevan Tabatadze believes that 2022 will be the year of recovery. To this end, one of the main events in Georgia will be the inaugural FIABCI-Georgia Prix d’ Excellence Awards, which will be organised with the support of Bank of Georgia during the international real estate week. The latter event will be held in spring in partnership with Expo Georgia, the Georgian National Association of Real Estate (GNARE) and other partner organisations. “This will be a unique opportunity for international investors and brokers to familiarise themselves with the projects in our capital. Furthermore, organising international events of this magnitude will help popularise Georgia as an investment destination,” Ms Tabatadze stated.
Property Georgia, which is regularly involved in organising international real estate events, constantly works on developing new areas. In 2019, the company announced global expansion and helped found FIABCI-Georgia together with other member companies. 2020 was the year of adaptation and discovery of online opportunities. In 2021, the company created the new vision of a real estate project investment hub, which will be implemented and developed in 2022.
As for FIABCI-Georgia, the addition of new members in 2021 showed that Georgian development firms that were managing their own international marketing and sales campaigns a few years ago now require a strong and trustworthy partner on new markets. The association acquired 6 new members last year alone, and now comprises more than 30 major players from the local real estate sector.
FIABCI-Georgia aims to strengthen Georgia’s position on the global real estate map as an attractive new destination for investors. To this end, the association is taking part in numerous international events, such as MIPIM 2022 – the world’s leading real estate exhibition, which will be held on 15-18 March in Cannes.
In response to our initial question as to whether the Georgian real estate will become the discovery of the year on the international markets, we can list the three main objectives: first, getting the Georgian development companies to participate in international exhibitions and forums under a joint national umbrella; second, becoming involved in large-scale international events organised locally; and last but not least, working intensively on developing a new marketing strategy for the Georgian real estate sector.
