Fettes Residence Review 2026 — 2,000 sqft Freehold Near Gurney

For the full picture of the neighbourhood, from prices to schools to the rules for foreign buyers, see my Tanjung Tokong 2026 buyer's guide. This post looks at one building in detail.

Who actually buys a 2,000 sqft unit in a tower that was finished in 2011? That is the real question at Fettes Residence, and the answer tells you whether the building is for you before you look at a single listing.

The short version: IOI Properties built 195 units in a single 35-storey freehold tower on Fettes Road, on the edge where Tanjung Tokong meets Mount Erskine. Tracked entry is RM1,139,000, with recent asking around RM590–625 psf, and the standard layout is around 2,000 sqft — with larger plans going well past that. The buyer here is someone who has priced floor area per ringgit across the area and noticed that the newer towers charge far more for far less.

The essentials: Fettes Residence is a 195-unit freehold building on residential title, completed 2011, where 2,000 sqft is the standard unit rather than the showpiece — this is a space-first building. Recorded sales from 2021 to 2025 had a median of about RM569 psf, and current asking sits close to that; the differences between units are mostly renovation state and floor level rather than anything about the location itself. Entry at RM1,139,000 puts every unit above the RM1M foreign floor, so overseas buyers are eligible from the cheapest listing up. It's not the building for a compact price or the newest M&E — newer Tanjung Tokong stock wins on both counts. What Fettes offers instead is a visible fifteen-year resale record and a floor plate you can actually raise a family in.

Condition Is What Moves the Price

In one building, location isn't what moves the price. At Fettes Residence an original-condition unit on a lower floor and a fully renovated, higher-floor unit with a cleaner aspect are the same tower, title and management, but very different products.

That has two practical consequences. First, the headline "from RM1,139,000" is the original-condition price, and you should read it that way. Second, a well-renovated unit here is not overpriced just because it asks more than its neighbour — you are buying someone else's refit, and in a 2011 building that can be worth a lot of disruption avoided. Ask for the renovation history and the floor before you compare any two listings.

Two Thousand Square Feet as the Default

Most towers in this area sell a 2,000 sqft unit as the upper tier. Fettes Residence sells it as the ordinary unit, and then goes bigger. That single fact decides who should be on the shortlist.

If your priority is floor area — a family that needs real bedrooms, a home office that is not a corner of the living room, space for parents visiting for months rather than days — this is the building I point to first in Tanjung Tokong, because you get the square footage without paying new-launch money for it. If your priority is the smallest sensible ticket in a good address, every one of these units is more space, and more price, than you need.

Fettes Road: Close to Gurney and Straits Quay, Priced Like Neither

The address sits on the Tanjung Tokong / Mount Erskine edge, an easy run to both Gurney Drive and Straits Quay. What you are getting is proximity to both lifestyle areas without committing to either one's entry prices — and without the mall-podium or seafront premiums baked into the towers that sit on them. The Tanjung Tokong area guide sets out how the area compares on price and daily convenience if you want the wider context.

What a 2011 Completion Gives You, and What It Takes Away

Fifteen years of occupation is a genuine asset in one sense: the maintenance record exists, the body corporate has history, and there are actual resale comparables rather than a developer's forecast. You are buying a known quantity.

The trade is visible age. Against a fresh launch the building will show its years in lifts, lobby and services, and an original-condition unit will need money spent. That is why the renovation history of the exact unit matters more here than it would in a uniform new tower — and why the state levy of 1.5–3% and the usual foreign stamp duty are not the numbers that should decide this purchase for an overseas buyer. Eligibility is comfortable; condition is the diligence.

What it rents for

Asking rents at Fettes Residence in the listings I tracked in September–October 2026 ran from about RM3,200 to RM5,800 a month for most homes, with larger sea-view units listed higher. Furnishing, floor and view move the number a lot, so treat this as a range to test against the specific unit, not a promise.

Who Ends Up Choosing Fettes Residence

In practice it is three kinds of buyer: families who want genuine floor area at a sensible psf and would rather spend the difference on a refit than on a developer's margin; buyers who are comfortable with an established building in exchange for a settled track record; and people who want Gurney and Straits Quay within reach without living on either strip at those strips' prices.

Buyers who want a compact price, or the latest building systems, should look at the newer stock along the area instead. Current listings and the full spec are on the Fettes Residence project page.

Sources: Project spec and pricing verified against developer materials + current portal listings by Zac Ong, REN 64593. Regulatory figures per Malaysia Budget 2026 + Penang state policy. Verify at booking. Asking rents from listings I track (September–October 2026).