The verdict
3.9/ 522 Macalisterz is Exsim's serviced residence on Macalister Road in George Town, completed in 2025: freehold, 418 units, built with rental investors in mind.
- Price
- RM580K–RM750K
- Tenure
- Freehold
- Land title
- Commercial
- Completion
- 2025
Zac’s own rating, not user reviews.
Zac’s own rating, not an average of user reviews. It reflects one licensed agent’s assessment of this project against others he tracks in Penang.
New to the area? My George Town 2026 buyer's guide covers every building nearby, with prices and the downsides as well as the upsides.
Some buildings are homes that can be rented. 22 Macalisterz is a rental product that can, at a stretch, be lived in, and the honest review treats it that way. Exsim built 418 freehold serviced residences of 340–497 sq ft in a 36-storey tower on Macalister Road, wrapped around a restored colonial mansion, and handed them over on 9 August 2025. In 2026 they ask about RM580,000–750,000, roughly RM1,400–1,700 per sq ft.
Key takeaways:
- 418 units in four layouts of 340–497 sq ft, 36 storeys on 1.11 acres, handed over August 2025.
- Launched at about RM491,000–736,800; 2026 asking about RM580,000–750,000.
- Commercial title: no renovation budget needed, but commercial running costs for good.
- About 232 parking bays for 418 units: not every unit has a car park.
- Below the RM1M foreign minimum, so it's a Malaysian, PR and MM2H market.
What you're buying
Four compact layouts, all under 500 sq ft: units for a single occupant or a couple, not a family. The building's facilities are spread over three landscaped zones, with a sky pool, gym and coworking space. The restored mansion at the front gives the address more character than a typical small-unit tower.
Published figures put parking at about 232 bays for 418 units. If your tenant drives, check whether your unit comes with a bay before you buy.
What has changed since launch
Exsim launched at about RM491,000 to RM736,800. Resale asking prices now run about RM580,000 to RM750,000, so smaller units are asking roughly 15–20% above launch a year after handover. That's asking, not transacted, and with 418 near-identical units competing, sellers who need to move often settle below the asking price. Negotiate from recent sales of the same layout.
The income
Macalister Road is George Town's hospital and commercial spine, and it rents to a steady pool: clinic staff, medical-stay visitors, relocating professionals and students. The distances back that up. Measured road distances at free-flow speeds:
- Penang General Hospital: about 1.6 km, 4 minutes.
- Komtar: about 2 km, 3 minutes.
- Island Hospital: about 2 km, 3 minutes.
- Gleneagles: about 3 km, 4 minutes.
- Gurney Plaza: about 4 km, 5 minutes.
Get actual achieved rents for studios on this stretch before you model anything. On a unit this small, RM200 a month either way changes the yield noticeably.
The cost base
Two things compress the headline return. The price per square foot is high, so the rent has to work hard. And the commercial title means commercial utilities, assessment and a tighter loan margin. Build your numbers on net, after both, or you'll buy a brochure figure.
Short-stay
Under Penang's 2026 homestay by-law, ordinary residential condos can't be licensed for short stays, but serviced apartments are in a category that can apply. That still depends on the building's management rules and a council licence, and enforcement starts on 1 November 2026. Model the unit on a long-term rent and treat short-stay as upside. More in what the homestay rules mean for owners.
The exit
A compact, new, freehold rental unit on a strong road resells to the next investor, local or PR, since the whole range sits below the foreign minimum. You'll be competing with the building's own stock, so buy a floor and outlook you can argue for.
How it compares on Macalister Road
Tropicana 218 Macalister, completed in 2018, is the established alternative: suites and serviced residences beside a Courtyard by Marriott hotel. Noordinz Suites is Exsim's next small-unit tower near Komtar, sold out off-plan and due in 2027.
Zac’s Take
Zac Ong
22 Macalisterz is a well-located rental unit, not a home, and the price per square foot reflects that location. Buy it if the net rent on a long let works for you, with parking and title costs included. Treat short-stay as a bonus. With 418 similar units, the floor, view and price you pay decide how fast you let and sell.
Average response: under 1 hour, 9am–7pm Mon–Sat.
📲 Get current 22 Macalisterz listingsCurrent details and listings are on the 22 Macalisterz project page.
Sources: Storeys, units, sizes, land area, launch prices, facilities, parking and handover date from The Edge and EdgeProp coverage of Exsim's handover (August 2025). Asking prices from portal listings in 2026. Road distances measured on OpenStreetMap routing. Short-stay rules per Penang's Private Homestay By-Law 2026.