Extremely low density condominium in Penang Island and I think it’s safe to say that the Light Collection 4 condominium is one of the lowest condominium in Penang Island. You can enjoy the whole landscape and facilities of the Light Collection series. 

I would give 5 stars once the Mall and Convention Centre is ready and become one of the famous spot of Penang Island. Also, it’s because of the convenience where currently the Light Collection don’t have any mart, supermarket, coffee shop or restaurant nearby. 

Actually for me I would say ok because there is Tesco  (supermarket) nearby just that some picky purchaser might try to nitpick saying that “I have to drive a BIG round / circle to go Tesco”

To be honest it’s not really that “BIG” / far because it’s just about 9 minutes distance to TESCO and back-and-forth won’t even cost you more than 15 minutes

For me, I think it’s 2 sided where it is a good investment but it’s also not an easy investment. 

Reason that I think it is a good investment simply because of branded developer, nice environment, nice landscape, nice facility, short travelling distance to future Convention Centre and Mall and most importantly my personal preference which is low density. Meaning to say lesser competitor if you were to sell it in the foreseeable future.

In contrast, it is not an easy investment due to its pricing that is close to RM 2m and above and RM 10m above for the Water Villas Bungalow. Your future buyer will have a lots of choices too since it is RM 2m and above. In short, more patience is needed unless you’re very lucky that your potential buyer did a lot of surveys and finally decide on Light Collection 4 and I would say it’s either you have a good agent or you have a good timing.

In conclusion, more negotiation will be required and most importantly, be patient.

Current Per Square Feet (PSF) for Water Villas 4 storey bungalow will be around RM 1,420 to RM 1,900+ 

PSF for the Light Collection 4 condominium would be somewhere around RM 850 to Rm 1,000+. (this is just a gross estimation/ calculation.) 

To be honest personally I don’t like to calculate PSF, because people tend to not to compare apple to apple or I should say people are not comparing rationally. (No choice people insist to ask for the figure so I have to show it somehow)

Just tweak some figure and the PSF will change a lot. I heard a funny comparison for the 22 Macalisterz (latest serviced residence project launched on 2021) where the PSF is somewhere almost RM 1,300 PSF. And the “investor” told me “it’s too crazy, this property cannot buy la, RM 1,300 PSF for studio or 2 bedrooms” 

Well, I can’t say it’s crazy or not because it’s not my job to tell you whether crazy or not but to find you the right property that you can comfortably proceed with. 

In addition, current ROI for rental return of the Light Collection 4 will be somewhere around 2% – 3% and please don’t forget about your potential capital gain / capital appreciation which is very subjective to factor into the rate therefore I only include ROI for rental.

I’ve listed down the rental rate as at Aug 2021 for the Light Collection 4 condominium from 2 to 4 bedrooms rate. 

Depends on your investment appetite, if you’re taking loan, for sure you’ll be facing net cash outflow for the investment and this would be very subjective and I couldn’t calculate or show here how much will be your monthly net cash outflow because it depends on the loan amount and loan tenure. 

For sure monthly rental of RM 4,000+ to RM 6,000+ is less likely to be a local tenant. Therefore,  I would say current Covid-19 and travelling restrictions will make it slightly harder to rent out at satisfied rate or to rent out within short period of time.

Take a recent case that I faced where I showed a tenant 2 seafront condo with market rental about RM 5k onward. After 3 units of viewing,  the tenants told me to counter offer owner. Let’s take a quick guess how much the offer? The tenant wants the rental at RM 2,500. You imagine yourself if the owner is standing in front of the tenant. 

Well, as I mentioned up there it’s a good investment but also not an easy investment especially during the time of Covid-19. Existing owners will have to hold for another few years to at least breakeven by including the interest paid. 

Again, just be patient and you’ll reap your profit or at least breakeven. As at March 2020 just before MCO 1 if not mistaken, a unit with 1,900sf+ sold out at RM 1.78m. 

If you are looking to own a unit or to invest a unit here, do allow or understand that some owners might just wanna “earn” back their interest during the hard time and I don’t think you can easily find below RM 1m deal here. After all, if you’re looking for property that cost millions it also means that you have certain purchasing power and so do the existing owners and they are having certain holding powers as well.

Even auction case also doesn’t represent the whole market unless of course the project itself having problems previously.

In conclusion I would say just hold it and be patience and the Light City might be able to prove its value when the economy is recovering.

For me, I’m ok with the traffic here because just a short distance and you’ll get to highway/ expressway. Also, the whole Light Collection series also within walking distance to the upcoming Convention Centre and the Mall that is currently under-construction by IJM.

No obvious mosque / masjid exactly in front, back or at the side of the Light City, yet. As usual, if you really cannot accept mosque, please move out of Malaysia. Quite some time ago, I have some buyers who bought Karpal Singh there giving comments because of no mosque. Well, look at now what we have at Karpal Singh.

Just want to emphasize that this is Malaysia’s culture and the Local Authority has the right to build at the spot they think necessary. So I wouldn’t make promises like “GUARANTEE there won’t be any mosque nearby” because the future is always unknown. 

In short, I’m just gonna leave it at 4.5 stars for the Light Collection series traffic / travelling distance because not everybody likes short driving distance to expressway / highway and also close distance to Convention Centre and Mall. However, I do believe majority would like it due to its convenience in the future.

If it were the first project on a piece of reclaimed land I might not be rating it at 5 stars because nothing to be seen and people might be worrying. However, There’s already Light Collection 1, 2, 3 before it came to Light Collection 4. Hence, facilities, small township and etc, you can say it’s done / ready.

For me, it is a very good spot that you should consider if you’re looking for a luxury seafront living. A well planned township with luxurious facilities and landscape for owners of the Light Collection. As mention, I love the environment here more than Quayside. (If you love Quayside just go ahead I’m not saying Quayside is inferior, I’m just saying that I prefer the Light more than Quayside)

There’s no PERFECT property only the property that suits you. If a property matches your requirement @ 70% – 80% just give it a serious consideration. Perfect property comes with “perfect” price. 

In short, I would say the Light Collection 4 is just perfect for me.