The Dollar Rate and Apartment Prices — How to Read Them Together in 2026

The Tbilisi and Batumi markets run on two currencies: most listings are priced in dollars, while mortgages, utilities and registration fees are paid in lari. Knowing the rate is not trivia — it is part of budgeting a purchase precisely.

Which rate is "right" — official, bank or market

There are three rates and they show three different numbers. The official one is published daily by the National Bank — an accounting rate. The bank buy/sell rate adds a margin to it. The third — the mid-market rate — is the real midpoint of the global market, and that is the one to compare against a listing when you work out what a dollar-priced apartment costs in lari today.

How to convert a price the right way

It is simple: open the sivrce exchange-rates page (/valuta), enter the amount and direction — say, $80,000 into lari — and get the precise figure at the current rate. Every sivrce listing also shows both currencies automatically, so most of the time you never need to calculate by hand.

What a moving rate means for a buyer

A stronger dollar squeezes a lari budget: the apartment you could afford last month in lari now overruns it. So when searching with a fixed lari budget, filter listings priced in lari, and if you shop in dollars keep a 5–10% reserve for rate swings. Long-horizon investors care less about the rate — yield and location decide.

Golden rules

1) Always ask the price in both currencies — some sellers quietly "raise" it with a stale rate. 2) Confirm the rate with your own bank on payment day — the mid-market rate is a reference, the transaction rate carries a margin. 3) Choose your mortgage currency deliberately: a lari loan is more expensive but safe, a dollar loan is cheaper but carries currency risk.