Completed or under-construction apartment – what are the advantages of each?

Developers put their apartments on sale at different stages of a project. So you can buy an apartment in Tbilisi at the very beginning, when the foundations are only just being laid, or once the place is finished and move-in ready.

That gives the buyer a good head start to work out which option fits their priorities, their timeframe, and, not negligible, their budget. Before throwing your lot into a particular project, though, it's better to think hard about the advantages and the risks of the condition you’ll be getting the apartment in: the one still under construction and the one where all the work has already been done.

Buying a Move-in Ready Apartment in Tbilisi: Key Advantages and Challenges

With an apartment that’s already finished, you get a full picture from the get-go. The facade, the walls, the views the windows look out onto, the shared areas, the state of the infrastructure around it: it's all right there. So you decide on the strength of the existing facts, not the potential of a drawing on paper.

Timing is another big benefit. You can move into your new place within a few weeks, with none of the long wait associated with ongoing construction or renovation works.

Financing is easier, too. Banks approve a mortgage on a completed property far more readily than they do for a residential complex under construction, because a building that’s already been finished counts as a lower-risk asset. So the loan tends to come through quicker, and on better terms.

Of course, there’s a catch and the catch is the price. An apartment where all of the work has already been done for you also costs more, and in a lot of cases that same money would buy you a bigger place, or a better address, in a project that's still being built.

There's also less options to choose from. The best apartments tend to sell early, during the construction phase, so by the time a building is finished you're often picking from what's left over. And once a unit has been handed over, changing the internal layout is difficult and expensive.

It's also worth looking at the condition of the building itself. If it was built several years ago, it may no longer match today's standards or hold up to current expectations on energy efficiency.

Buying Property in a Residential Complex Under Construction: The Pros and Cons

Buying into a project during the early construction phase certainly has its appeal. The price is the biggest one that wins people over, because the cost per square meter is much lower when the project is in infancy. The pattern is fairly consistent: the first buyers get the best deals, and the property keeps getting more expensive as construction moves along.

Those early prices usually come with more flexible payment terms as well. Georgian developers, Maqro Development included, will often offer buying an apartment with 0% internal installment plans. You get to pay off the apartment in comfortable stages, no bank loan involved and no interest piling up on top.

Buying early gives you more say in what you actually get, too. It's much easier at this point to land the floor you want, the view you want, and the layout you have in mind.

Another thing in favor is that the newer the residential complex, the higher the chances that apartment units not only meet but exceed today's standards. New complexes are always built in accordance with the latest construction codes. They’re obliged to account for  improved energy efficiency and current safety requirements.

That said, they also do have their cons, as well. Before you decide to purchase one, you have to look at the difficulties that come with buying apartments under construction, and delays top the list. Your best guard against that is the developer's reputation. Reliability varies from one developer to the next, so before you put your name on the dotted line, look into what the company has done before, how well their previous project was built, and whether they delivered it on time.

The legal side requires just as much attention. Read the official documents, check if the permits are real, and go through the preliminary purchase agreement line by line. That's how you save yourself trouble later.

In short, before you buy into something still under construction, make sure the developer behind it is one you can trust and one that has done this before.

Is there the Right Apartment Choice on the Tbilisi Real Estate Market?

A few aspects do really decide which the better option can be for the Tbilisi real estate market. The first is timing. If you need to move soon, a completed project is the obvious answer. But if you're planning a move into a new place a few years down the line, an apartment under construction makes more sense, both because you get to save money and because you’ll get access to a wider variety of options. 

What your goal is when buying matters a lot. Is this new apartment supposed to be your home or is it primarily an investment? They should be judged by completely different yardsticks. If it's for you and your family, you should think about potential everyday needs. If you're putting money in for the long haul, a property under construction usually pays off better, simply because prices keep climbing.

Even so, location is the thing that counts most. Being close to transport links, to the metro, and to the busier parts of town shapes daily life, and it's also what holds (and propels) property value over time.

Maqro City Tbilisi: A New Premium Residential Complex Under Construction

Currently, there are only a handful of projects that truly stand out on the Georgian market, based on the amenities and on-side infrastructure they offer. One of them is going up in the Samgori district, on Noe Ramishvili Street. The location means the apartments are near metro, just five minutes on foot from Samgori station. The airport is ten minutes away by car and the city center just about fifteen.

Maqro City Tbilisi takes construction quality and safety seriously. The residential and commercial buildings are designed to survive a magnitude-8 earthquake and are built with durable B35-grade concrete.

There's plenty of fun things planned on site, too. There will be four swimming pools, three tennis courts, and two basketball courts. There will also be cycling and running tracks, indoor and outdoor fitness areas, plus a kindergarten and children' s playgrounds for the complex’s youngest residents.

The payment options are flexible. Currently, the 0% internal installment plan runs up to 37 months, with a minimum down payment of 10% of the unit price. Pay the whole thing up front and you get a 15% discount.

The company can also be trusted to back all its promises up. Maqro Development has already delivered a couple of large successful projects, with finished residential complexes like Green Budapest and Green Diamond in its portfolio. For a buyer, that record is one more reason to trust both the quality and the timing.