The independent Russian investigative journalism website “Važnyje istorii” reported this week that, according to real estate agents, the demand for apartment rentals in Tbilisi and Yerevan in mid-August was up to 30% higher compared to the same period last year. Agents say this growth is partly due to seasonal factors.
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One real estate agent working in Tbilisi, quoted by the portal, said: “I advise everyone planning to move to rent now. Apartments are rented out within a day or two, everyone is looking for long-term options. We haven’t seen such activity since 2022.”
After Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, about 700,000 people left Russia – the majority of this exodus was driven by the armed forces’ mobilization carried out in September of the same year.
Another Tbilisi real estate agent told the portal that apartment demand in the Georgian capital began to rise at the end of July: “This situation can be compared to the first months of the war… Now [finding an apartment] is harder because many emigrants already live here.”
“The market cannot meet the demand, even with active construction ongoing,” he added.
“Russian influx”
The report states that a similar situation is unfolding in Armenia – the surge in rental demand in Yerevan is called a “direct response to the Russian influx into the country.”
According to organizations assisting potential emigrants, the interest of Russian citizens wishing to leave the country has nearly doubled in recent months amid growing concerns about a new wave of military mobilization.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned this month that the Kremlin may seek to mobilize several hundred thousand of its citizens by the end of the year, based on “internal Russian documents” obtained by Ukrainian intelligence services, reports “TVP World.”
Analysts say Moscow may wait until the Russian parliamentary elections in September are over before announcing mobilization, aiming to avoid an unpopular and politically risky move.
