Only five Penang new launches actually price between RM1 million and RM1.8 million right now, are freehold, and are legal for a foreign buyer to touch. Three sit on the island, two on the mainland. That's it. This is the honest shortlist — not a curated 20-project brochure. The reason the list is short is the point of this post: as a foreign buyer, the market you can shop from is much smaller than the market the developer ads suggest.
Key takeaways:
- On Penang Island the foreign minimum is RM1,000,000 per unit — no exceptions, no title-class workaround. Below that, you cannot buy.
- Above RM1.8M you move into branded and luxury pricing (W Residences, Marriott Residences, E&O) — you're paying for the brand as much as the address.
- In the middle band, only 5 currently-selling new launches in our database meet all four tests: foreign-eligible, freehold, priced from RM1M–RM1.8M, and either verified in our data or with my personal note on file.
- 3 are island condos (Lumina Residence Georgetown, Merione Residences Gelugor, Waterstone Tanjung Bungah). 2 are mainland landed (Garden Villas Bukit Mertajam, Taman Selayang Jaya Butterworth).
- Every one still needs Penang state consent — about 3–4 months — and the flat 8% foreigner stamp duty on the SPA and MOT. Plan for those, not the citizen 1–4% scale.
Why the RM1M–RM1.8M band is where a foreign buyer actually shops
The state floor forces the bottom. Under Penang's foreign-buyer rule, a non-citizen cannot buy a strata unit on the island for less than RM1,000,000. It does not matter if the title is residential, commercial, or serviced apartment — the floor is the price, not the class. On the mainland (Seberang Perai) the floor drops to RM600,000, but the product mix over there is mostly local landed and affordable condos, and most foreign buyers I meet do not want to live in Butterworth or Bukit Mertajam.
The ceiling comes from the market. Above RM1.8M you are in branded-residence territory — W Residences Gurney Bay, Marriott Residences Gurney, E&O's newer towers, the top Andaman stack. The brand adds real things (management, amenities, resale story) but it also adds a price premium of maybe RM400–800 psf over an unbranded equivalent nearby. That's fine if you want the brand. It's a waste if you don't.
Between RM1M and RM1.8M is where a foreign buyer has the widest actual choice — and the choice is still narrow. Here it is.
The complete list, grouped by area
Penang Island
Lumina Residence — Georgetown
- Developer: VST Properties & BSG
- From RM1.03M (indicative up to RM2.1M for higher stacks)
- PSF from ~RM850, up to ~RM956
- Freehold, residential title
- 596 units, expected VP 2027
- Sizes: 1,206–1,518 sqft (3 and 3+1 bedroom)
- Who it suits: A foreign buyer who wants a Georgetown address at the lowest legal entry price. Pykett Avenue is about 1 km from Gleneagles, 3 km from Gurney. Residential title (not serviced apartment) means normal TNB tariffs, no HDA restrictions, cleaner exit story.
- The catch: 596 units is dense for the area. Sky pool and podium facilities will be shared across a large population. Confirm which unit type actually sits at the entry price before committing.
Merione Residences — Gelugor (The Light Waterfront)
- Developer: IJM Land
- From ~RM1.42M
- PSF around ~RM1,350
- Freehold (confirm the title class — mixed retail/residential podium)
- 145 units in a single 39-storey tower, expected VP 2029
- Sizes: 1,055–1,206 sqft (all 3 bedroom)
- Who it suits: A buyer who wants the branded-address feel of The Light Waterfront precinct without paying Lightwater or Andaman money. Strong rental fundamentals from the medical, tech and USM tenant pool.
- The catch: Small-tower stock at a well-known precinct sells fast at the good views. The published PSF and the published entry price do not quite line up on the smallest layouts — ask for the current price list and match the unit to the number.
Waterstone — Tanjung Bungah
- Developer: BSG Property
- From RM1.287M (3-bedroom, 1,334–1,800 sqft). 4-bedroom stacks from RM1.8M.
- Freehold, residential title
- 365 units, expected VP 2028
- Who it suits: Expat families. Tanjung Bungah sits between Tanjung Tokong and Batu Ferringhi — quieter than Gurney, walkable to beach, and inside the catchment of Uplands, Dalat and Sri Utama international schools. Sea views from higher stacks.
- The catch: Own-stay play, not a yield play. Tanjung Bungah rents softer than Gurney or Tanjung Tokong per square foot. Buy it because you want to live there or park a family in it, not to squeeze RM4,500 a month out of it.
Seberang Perai (mainland)
Garden Villas at Jesselton Hills — Bukit Mertajam
- Developer: WingTai Malaysia
- From RM1.189M to RM1.43M
- PSF from ~RM447
- Freehold, 2-storey semi-detached
- 62 units, 2,660 sqft built-up, expected VP 2026
- Who it suits: A buyer who wants land, a big house and freehold at a price no island condo will match. Bukit Mertajam has good schools, a mature township, and easy access back to the second bridge.
- The catch: Foreign buyers rarely target mainland landed. Resale liquidity is thinner, and the buyer pool is almost entirely local. Confirm the land title (individual or master) before committing.
Taman Selayang Jaya — Butterworth
- Developer: SP City Development Sdn. Bhd.
- From RM1.088M
- PSF from ~RM573
- Freehold, residential title
- 24 units — a mix of 1- and 2-storey terrace and 2-storey semi-detached
- Sizes: around 1,800 sqft built-up on the 2-storey terrace, expected VP 2026
- Who it suits: Almost exclusively a local buyer play. On this list mainly to be honest — the small unit count and the mainland location mean a foreign buyer is unlikely to want it, but it does technically qualify.
- The catch: Small development, no facilities, no rental yield story for a foreign investor.
My 3 best-value picks in this range
- Waterstone (Tanjung Bungah) — for the buyer who wants a home. Freehold, residential, mid-sized building, sea views, in the international-school belt, from RM1.287M. Tanjung Bungah has been quietly re-rating for two years and this is the only new-launch freehold in the strip at this price.
- Merione Residences (The Light) — for the buyer who wants the branded-address feel and a real rental story, without paying RM2M+. Small tower, IJM's build quality, and the whole Light precinct's momentum sit behind it.
- Lumina Residence (Georgetown) — for the buyer who wants inside the city at the lowest legal entry. Residential title in Georgetown at RM850 psf is genuinely rare. The density is the tax you pay for that price.
2 I'd approach carefully
- Any project in this list where the entry price and the smallest published unit do not multiply out cleanly. This is not a project fault, it's a Malaysian developer-marketing habit. Ask for the current price list, name the exact stack, and get the number in writing before the booking fee moves.
- Mainland landed in this band for a foreign investor. Garden Villas and Taman Selayang Jaya are both legitimate projects for a local buyer. As a foreign investor buying for yield or exit liquidity, you are shopping in the wrong aisle. Not a knock on the projects — a knock on the fit.
What your RM1.2M actually buys in each corridor
| Corridor | What ~RM1.2M gets you (new-launch freehold, foreign-eligible) |
|---|---|
| Georgetown | ~1,200 sqft, 3-bed condo, residential title (Lumina Residence) |
| Gelugor (The Light) | Not quite in reach — Merione entry is closer to RM1.4M |
| Tanjung Bungah | ~1,334 sqft, 3-bed condo, sea potential (Waterstone) |
| Tanjung Tokong / Gurney | Nothing new-launch in this band — start from ~RM1.8M+ |
| Batu Ferringhi | Nothing new-launch in this band right now |
| Bayan Lepas | Nothing verified in our data at this price and status |
| Bukit Mertajam | Freehold 2-storey semi-D, 2,660 sqft (Garden Villas) |
| Butterworth | Freehold terrace, ~1,800 sqft (Taman Selayang Jaya) |
The blank rows are the honest answer, not a data gap. The premium northern strip has no new-launch stock in this band — the market prices those areas above RM1.8M. If you specifically want Gurney or Tanjung Tokong at this budget, the answer is subsale, not new launch.
Short-term rental (Airbnb) reality check
All five are residential title. On residential title, short-term rental is governed by the JMB or MC once the building is up — which usually means the house rules restrict stays under 3 or 7 nights. Penang state guidance on strata STR has tightened in recent years. Do not buy any of these expecting Airbnb income; if STR is central to your plan you want commercial-title stock, and that is a different (usually more expensive, riskier on financing) conversation. Can a foreigner rent out Penang property? covers this properly.
What to check before you view any of these
Before you spend a Saturday at any sales gallery on this list, run through the Foreign Buyer Checklist. The five questions that matter most on a new launch:
- Confirm the exact land title class on the offer letter — residential vs commercial vs commercial-HDA changes the cost of holding it.
- Ask for the current price list and match the entry price to a specific stack. Brochure "from RM x" figures often refer to a single low-view unit that may already be sold.
- Model the total cash-in with the flat 8% foreign stamp duty and the 3% (island) or 2% (mainland) state levy. Use the affordability calculator — it applies the correct foreigner rates.
- Confirm the developer's LAD (Liquidated Ascertained Damages) track record. Late delivery is claimable at 10% p.a. under Schedule H, but only if the developer is still standing.
- Understand your exit tax. Foreign RPGT is 30% for years 1–5 and 10% from year 6 onwards — the calculator is here. It never drops to 0%.
MM2H holders — the visa is separate from the purchase, but the property qualifying rules for MM2H are met by any project on this list. See the MM2H guide. Unsure what a term means? The glossary covers SPA, LAD, MOT, COSA, JMB, MC, HDA and the rest in plain English.
Sources & verification
Every project figure above cross-checks against our internal projects data as researched in 2026. Regulatory constants (8% foreigner stamp duty, 3% island / 2% mainland state levy, RM1M island / RM600K mainland foreign floors, 30% year 1–5 RPGT) are per LHDN and Penang state guidance. If you see a number here that a developer's sales gallery quotes differently, the price list you are holding on the day is the operative one — ask, and ask me to sanity-check it.
If you have two or three of these on a shortlist and want an honest second opinion — including the units the sales gallery will not lead with — message me on WhatsApp. I've walked most of these sites; I'll tell you which stacks are worth the Saturday and which are not.