Foreign participation in the Azerbaijan real estate market remains relatively limited compared with domestic demand, but official statistics show a steady presence of international buyers each year. According to recent available data, foreign citizens completed approximately 411 real estate purchase transactions in Azerbaijan in the most recent reporting period, including 214 apartment purchases and 197 private houses.
These figures confirm that the vast majority of foreign purchases are concentrated in residential property. In fact, more than 90% of real estate owned by foreigners in Azerbaijan consists of apartments and private houses, while only a small portion involves commercial premises or other types of property.
The statistics also show a clear pattern in the origin of foreign buyers. Most foreign investors purchasing property in Azerbaijan come from nearby regional markets rather than distant countries. The leading nationalities buying real estate are Russia, Türkiye, Georgia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan, which together account for the majority of foreign property transactions in the country.
Among these groups, Russian citizens represent the largest share of foreign buyers. Their interest is largely driven by geographic proximity, business connections, and long-standing cultural ties with Azerbaijan. Russian investors typically purchase apartments in Baku either as second homes or as investment properties intended for rental income.
The second-largest group of foreign buyers comes from Türkiye. Strong economic and political relations between Azerbaijan and Türkiye encourage cross-border investments in multiple sectors, including real estate. Turkish buyers are particularly active in residential apartment purchases within modern developments and central districts of Baku.
Georgian citizens also appear regularly among foreign buyers. Due to regional mobility and business cooperation between the two countries, Georgian investors sometimes purchase apartments or commercial premises in Azerbaijan as part of cross-border business activities.
Another noticeable segment consists of Ukrainian investors, who often look for relatively affordable apartments compared with many European property markets. For these buyers, Azerbaijan offers lower entry prices and potential rental income opportunities in the capital city.
In addition, Kazakh investors are present in the Azerbaijani property market due to strong economic cooperation between the two countries and similarities within the broader post-Soviet economic environment.
Several structural factors explain why these nationalities dominate foreign purchases. Azerbaijan allows foreigners to buy residential and commercial property, although foreign citizens cannot directly own land. As a result, most foreign buyers focus on apartments rather than land-based properties such as villas or standalone houses.
Another contributing factor is the residence permit option linked to property investment. Foreign nationals can apply for temporary residency after investing at least 100,000 Azerbaijani manats in real estate, which has encouraged some investors to consider property purchases as part of relocation or residency planning.
Overall, the number of foreign property purchases in Azerbaijan remains relatively small compared with the total domestic real estate market. However, the available statistics clearly show that investors from Russia, Türkiye, Georgia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan are the most active foreign buyers, with most transactions concentrated in the residential segment and primarily located in Baku, which continues to dominate the country’s real estate investment activity.
