any update about this project? under construction now?

expect completion in 2024

RM850 per sq … worth buying?

Own stay yes… investment no, negative bleeding every mth with no capital appreciation in short term

Give up on penang props

How is the sale of this project? What is package now?

went to showroom persqft about RM1k, not worth the price

@starlight
ohh.. may be weekend i should pay a visit to their office to understand more. Thanks

@starlight
Not really. After a package discount only 800k+ starting price for smallest unit but without balcony. Anyhow, not worth to invest. Personally i don’t like this location as super hot direct sunlight & traffic congested in front of The light city which is one of the worst in Penang. Fullly jam if to go out from highway to turn a big run to town area. Everyday repeating a same problem. Hopefully IJM could fix this issue soon.

@Cun
800k+ should be the unit that facing PWCC where the view will be blocked. If not wrong want unblock view should be start from 900k++.

Hi, I’m going to retire in early 2026 and thinking to buy IJM condo in the light city for renting to foreigner. I heard Mezzo is a nice condo because it is link to shopping mall and PWCC. Agent told me that Mezzo now only left few units in Tower A available to sell mostly facing PWCC but high floor above 20th floor still can have sea view, is this true ?
The light water residence is too expensive and can’t afford to buy.
I’m very new in this type of investment.
Please share your knowledge and experience with me is it worth to buy Mezzo at Tower A Unit 1 or unit 2 and is it able to rent for foreigner ?
Many thanks in advance for your sharing and appreciated your advise because it is very important for me to know before I decide to invest in Mezzo Tower A.

Is it better to buy unit with high floor level 20 or level 30 for better view ?
Agent told me to floor for Mezzo is 34 floor.

@kingkong
My opinion is as follows:-
(1) For renting out, surely you need to consider purchase price vs rental. Most corporate expatriate in PG has a company budget of RM3500. After deducting maintenance fees & furniture wear and tear, you’d probably end up with ~RM3000/mth, which is about RM36k/yr. In other words, to get a 3% yield, your property shouldnt cost more than 1.2mil
(2) No doubt there are tenants out there with higher budget (mnc top management, a few rich china ppl etc), but they normally have better choices (larger units in better locations like Gurney, Tanjung Tokong), and market supply for such units is much more than demand.
(3) Are there properties out there which can yield you better than 3%? Surely there are.

@Kimchi
I notice Queens waterfront doing quite well in rental & price appreciation too & plenty of MNC top management rented.
But not sure about the light current market maybe little bit far with little bit jam to go down after work? Anyone has opinion?
Even The light linear with bigger size but still not fetch well rental.

@Kimchi and @Seng
Many thanks and really appreciated your sharing. Once again, thanks.

now Mezzo only left Tower A facing PWCC. Agent claim high floor 20 can see partially sea view facing Georgetown, not to sure is this true ?
Agent claim Tower A is better than Tower B because Tower has link way directly go to Waterfront shopping mall, is anyone know this is true ?
Just worry without full sea view, difficult to rent out. Can anyone share your experience on this full sea view rent versus partially sea view rent, is the renting cost will different a lot ?

Queens waterfront for those 950 sqft with full furnished and non sea view units currently is renting at ~rm 4000/month.
Base on initial price after rebate ~660k, the rental yield is 7% but without counting the renovation /furnish cost.

@millionaire
Yes. I guess this is the price during HOC package in pandemic period range of non seaview around 660k(lowest floor) to 720k (highest floor). Let say if fold out rm80k to get it furnished & basic renovation so could be around 800k & still fetch some decent rental with average no seaview unit selling price now at 1M+-.

Honestly, I don’t have much info & convincing rental market in The light city yet. Perhaps if PWCC shopee mall success play a vital role to get all rental & appreciation property around area.
If talking about MNC top management to rent unit in The light also that’s plenty of choice in surrounding not only Mezzo but off course it’s nearest to new mall. What do you think on Mezzo? I have doubt if Mezzo performed well in rental market later. Appreciation probably it may take sometime too by looking at surrounding condo.

@Seng
@kingkong
In fact I did purchased one unit tower A Mezzo, high floor sea view >1M on 2023.
But is for own stay, so I did not ready considered rental yield or value appreciation.
I believed IJM had the capability on developing the whole Light City on making success the PWCC and surrounding shopping mall plus office block/hotels.
It is a piece of new land, so everything is under well plan, including new overhead bridge from airport direction and to Georgetown, not forgetting future LRT will passing by here.
After completing the whole Light City at end of 2025, it will becoming a happening place.
As for reference I did see some property platforms advertising units on The Light area like Waterside Residence smaller furnished unit for renting at rm 3000 to 3500.

@millionaire
Actually if you had attended the briefing recently for Penang LRT, it is clearly indicated that LRT WILL NOT pass through The Light. It will come from Georgetown, passing thru many stops in Jelutong along the expressway, and then make a turn at Lotus into Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, with no station at The Light.

As for “happening place”, I believe Gurney Bay will be in the limelight for the next 15 years, as what you see there now is just the beginning, there will be more things coming. With The Westin hotel launched by VST in Gurney, it is already obvious that the area has been earmarked to be the flagship to showcase Penang, and Gurney does have all the qualities as the flag bearer. Having said that, it doens’t mean The Light will sink lah, although it has had it’s struggle over the last 10+ years, with issues of traffic jams, blocked connectivity, dust & noise as a result of construction and it’s location right next to a expressway. It wont die lah.

If want high rental yield, go for KL or JB city center la.

@Huat
I don’t know which year u attend the so call briefing, but LRT will definitely pass through The Light as the station number 6 also named “The Light”, just opposite of Caltex petrol. It wont turn at Lotus but turn at Jabatan Laut Wilayah Utara building.
Pls do homework b4 misleading.
As for happening place, we will wait and see when all facilities of PWCC, Mezzo, office blocks, hotels and flyovers are ready, then we comment.
Not too long to wait, just end of 2025.
Let’s see how.

@millionaire
Yes, definitely homework was done. Station #6 will land right at the very northern tip of The Light, closer to Bukit Dumbar side at the elbow of Jalan Udini, leaving ONLY THE TRACK (no station, hahaha) extending a little bit into The Light before making a turn into Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah. As I said, The Light won’t die, there will be people staying there, as there have been the last 10+ years amid the dust and noise.

Hi millionaire and all,
Many thanks for sharing.

@millionaire … the high floor in Tower A that you purchase is how high ? above 20 floor ?
Can see full sea view or partially sea view ?
Agent told me that high floor in Tower A unit 1 or unit 2 facing PWCC and shopping mall can only see partially sea view ( not full sea view ), is this true ? ( that makes me feel difficult to make decision to buy or not to buy because it is close to RM1.2million ).
Appreciated you could share your information. Thanks

@ millionaire
Agent told me Tower A has direct cover link way from car park all the way to the waterfront shopping mall, is this true ? Agent said Tower B don’t have and that’s why Tower A is better than Tower B even high floor can only see partially sea view , is this true ?
I’m in struggeling to make decision to buy or not to buy Tower A because agent keep calling me every week and told me only left three units in Tower A high floor of floor 19, 20 and 23.

@kingkong
Though my purchased unit is same tower A, but my unit is facing pool view and looking at Penang bridge. It is above 20 floor and full sea view
Your agent recommended to you is those facing PWCC and looking at ferry jetty.
So is totally different direction.
On which floor onwards is able to view thru PWCC roof top so as to have sea view, this I suggested you better consult IJM technical staff to confirm.
But even high floor able to have sea view now, but need to consider the oncoming new project of Lightwater Residence and 2 newly reclaimed land beside it, they might block sea view in future.
Again, all this you need to visit IJM office to verify and not just get info from agent.
Hope you can clear the cloud after your verification.
About the linkage to shopping mall, I need not pay much attention on it.

@ millionaire,
Many thanks for your sharing information. Appreciated very much.
It is so good you managed to buy see pool view and looking at Penang bridge. So good…
In case you come to know anyone have the same view with you and willing to let go, please do let me know. Again, thanks for your sharing.

hi @KingKong
that is not consider link bridge, it is for future when the mall expand new wing to the land in front mezzo, mezzo eventually will connect to the mall new wing through the wall at car park. (if u look at the scale model there is a flat wall at car park area). IJM will reserve a hole there for future we can open a door and direct access to the new wing of mall but it will get approval from Mezzo resident as open door there might lower the privacy. That hole is located at 4th floor of car park.
Mezzo car park is linked, so it is not true that Tower A have link bridge but Tower B dont have, only advactages of Tower A i would say it is nearer to mall entrance. When this link door will open? it should be not so soon because we need wait IJM extend mall new wing and IJM staff told me should be not so soon it should be around 2030 years.
Hope this clear your doubt yea.

@Jay,
Many thanks for sharing, very good information.
2030 looks very long waiting year and hope IJM management can shorten the period.

@kingkong
@KingKong
welcome, hope u find ur dream unit here. regarding tower A unit 1 to 4 if you get above 16 floor then should be safe as it already over the roof of PWCC. Actually u can look at Mezzo sale chart, if u see the price of unit suddenly jump up a lot if compare to previous floor then definitely that floor is seaview floor d..
IJM not stupid, they charge extra price for seaview unit.

kingkong :
Hi, I’m going to retire in early 2026 and thinking to buy IJM condo in the light city for renting to foreigner. I heard Mezzo is a nice condo because it is link to shopping mall and PWCC. Agent told me that Mezzo now only left few units in Tower A available to sell mostly facing PWCC but high floor above 20th floor still can have sea view, is this true ?
The light water residence is too expensive and can’t afford to buy.
I’m very new in this type of investment.
Please share your knowledge and experience with me is it worth to buy Mezzo at Tower A Unit 1 or unit 2 and is it able to rent for foreigner ?
Many thanks in advance for your sharing and appreciated your advise because it is very important for me to know before I decide to invest in Mezzo Tower A.

Why not you take your retirement fund and migrate to lower cost region to enjoy rather than taking risk to purchase property. Some logic question do you still see future in Malaysia, KK mart what next ?

hi, for investment purpose and to be rented later, is the Tower A high floor facing PWCC, shopping mall and partially sea view worth for buying now because the selling price is closed to RM1.2 Million ? Hard to make decision because not sure is it worth and how much can the rental be for 1033 SQFT (2 bed room unit) with full renovation and full furnished ?
But I like the location because of PWCC and Waterfront Shopping Mall and believe this location should be future new happening area in Penang.
Looking forward to hearing advise from anyone. Thanks

rental should be around RM2K+

Hello sage penang property people –

what’s a reasonable cap rate (yield) for rental in penang, in location such as straits quay? Any other areas with higher yield?

@Minion
Queens waterfront non seaview rental starting from 3.5k to 4.2k range.

How it could be 2k for mezzo seaview? I don’t get any logic behind this. Mind to share more details.

@Anon
From my experience, rental yield in Penang is an aggregate of many factors, not just location or any single factor alone. You could have 2 properties in the same straits quay vicinity, but one getting 7% and the other getting only 3%. I have come across a nice luxury seaview condo at Quayside which was purchased for 2 mil, but only getting 5k rental (~3%) while an affordable 400k condo I-Santorini fetching 2.5k rental (~7%).

@Seng
I think it is not accurate to say that ALL Queens unit are fetching 3.5 to 4.2k. You do have many units still being left vacant there just waiting for that 3.5-4.2k tenant. :)) You must understand the dynamics of rental market, in which you have the <2k mass segment, 2k-3k+ segment, that Queens 3,5k-4.2k segment, & the 5k above very niche segment etc. The higher the price, the smaller the market, that applies for all products.

As for reference I did see some property platforms advertising units on The Light area like Waterside Residence smaller furnished unit for renting at rm 3k to 3.5k.
With all facilities nearby Mezzo once ready, like PWCC, waterfront shopping mall, its rental should no reason be lower than Waterside Residence.

Penang property rental yield is known to be lower. Mezzo 1.2M could maybe max up to 3K per month, maybe + a bit if lucky. Unless The waterfront shoppees would make it hot like Queensbay, then can go for 3.5K+. But still, your rental yield is only 3.5%, before maintenance fee, renovation and other expenses.

I thought with the PWCC and Waterfront Shopping Mall beside the Mezzo Condo plus it’s surrounding future development ( the art gallery, future light water residence condo, etc ) the rental for 1033 sq.ft (two bed room) size is able to get 4k to 4.5k rental (full renovation with full furnished).
If only 3k yo 3.5K rental with 1.2M + 80K (for renovation and full furnished), it is really not worth to invest for Mezzo. Looks like I have to drop this investment. Feel sadly.

@Hemsley
Ya, that’s why normally in Penang, any condo above RM1000psf would not bring good rental returns.

@Hemsley
Very informative.
What about other locations such as Straits Quay, Gurney? More or less 3.5%?
With such low cap rate, I assume most purchases were for primary residence? Also, I assume price appreciation is rare, given the amount of availabilities?

@Beng
And yet, there are a bunch of condos > RM1000psf. Who are buyers the developer’s targeting?
Also, in resale market, I’m seeing some condos in Straits Quay pricing at >RM1000psf. Do they sell?

@Anon
Good question. Who are the developers targeting? It’s a mixed bag actually – own residence, trophy buyers (they dont care about rental returns), investors with dumb money (and their wishful thoughts) & wannabes, just to name a few. Well, you see resale market selling at >1000psf ya. Not easy to sell, but not impossible. You just have to wait and hope to bump into some dumb money or owner occupiers.

@huat

Thank you. Great insight. Does that mean lower priced condo will yield higher, just for the sheer fact that it’s cheaper, hence higher demand? If so, looks like rental yields are not relative. In an efficient market, it should, but that’s not the case with Penang?

Also, as I’ve posted earlier, I assume most purchases (>$1mm) were for primary residence? and price appreciation is rare, given the amount of availabilities?

All frens above, there is no record on Mezzo rental now, so if to discuss about it, many assumptions take place. We may check the rental yield for Light Linear and Waterfront Residences as reference, but I believe the shopping mall would push the rental yield higher. The rental yield at Karpal Sigh Drive not bad also.

But whether able to hit 4-4.5K, can check the rental yield at Straits Quay as reference. I am not sure whether Queensbay area also can get such high rental.

Straits Quay got market from foreign ppl. Queensbay got factories. The Light is in between.

@Anon
Well, I personally believe higher yield cannot be attributed alone to cheaper purchase price, but it’s just a combination of various factors. The 7% yield I quoted is definitely not the result of cheap entry price alone, or location alone, but rather a combined factor of a “captive” expatriate market in that area, which is quite unique.

In other words,
(1) low purchase price + expatriate = high yield
(2) high purchase price + expatriate = ave yield.
(3) low purchase price + locals = ave yield
(4) high purchase price + locals = owner subsidising tenants. Hahaha.

Even within the market of expatriates, there are a few sub-segments, with different preferences, budget and mobility. Hence in my opinion, it would be too simplistic to view property investments from any single-factor market perspective.

@Beng
Thanks for the reply. Seems like they are targeting a niche market, and not the masses. Not sure how that strategy could work in 2024.

I would understand if there’s capital appreciation in Penang real estate, but given the excessive inventories, that’s wishful thinking, as you clearly stated. As they said, there’s a sucker born every minute, though I just can’t comprehend why someone would take ~3.5% return (3% after expenses?) when one can earn >5% risk free.

There’s a bunch of these so called serviced residences, priced way above 1000psf, what are the market dynamics for those?

@huat

Thanks again for your response. Excellent analyses.

Yeah, I concur there’s not a single factor perspective. However, in general, the best case scenario would be to target expats, as they’re not that price sensitive? That’s indeed quite a unique market.

I can’t help to wonder, how large is that market? I assume that’s a finite amount? If so, every property in Penang would be competing for that market, and as a result, will depress rental pricing? Or, due to the fact that market transparency is still in its infancy, the owner hopes to hit the ‘jackpot’ by engaging with a “rock star” real estate agent?

I would say that Mezzo got great potential for better rental yield. The rest very subjective.

Hi All,

Is the Tower B unit 1 to unit 4 facing sea view will be block by the existing The Light Collection Condominium 2 in front ?
Agent told me starting level 7 is clear, can see the light collection condominium 2 roofing and full Penang bridge sea view but I have some doubt ?

If you have better information on this, appreciated you could share with me. Many Thanks

@kingkong
As i mentioned above, you can go IJM office to take a look their sale chart, if u see the initial price have a huge jump if compare to previous floor then that floor is seaview d… if my memory serve me right 8 floor and above consider seaview for the tower B unit 1-4 facing.

@ Jay,
Many thanks for your advise. Will go to IJM office. Thanks

I studied this before using google map. Full Penang bridge view depend on you are sitting in living room or stand in front of windows. The center of the bridge likely blocked by the trees on the small island for ~level 10 and below. Light Collection is about 10 floor high. Do your math. You may also view many youtube on The Light progress, some drone view are almost the same with tower B view.