The Light Collection IV Review 2026 — Waterfront, Mind the Build-Out

Freehold, on the Gelugor waterfront, only 98 units — but the precinct around it is still a building site, and will be for years. That is the honest frame for The Light Collection IV: established stock inside an unfinished masterplan, which is both its best argument and its biggest irritation.

IJM Land completed it in 2017 inside the Light Waterfront scheme. Verified sub-sale asking runs RM1,730,000 to RM9,500,000 at RM722–1,144 psf, across layouts from 1,991 to 10,500 sqft. The size span is fivefold; the buyer pool at each end has nothing in common.

Key takeaways:

• Construction around you until at least 2028 — The Light City and Lightwater Residences are still rising next door.
• 1,991 sqft at RM1.73M and 10,500 sqft at RM9.5M are not the same asset, and the second one has almost no comparables.
• The mid-size units carry the sanest psf — the waterfront is priced most reasonably between the extremes.
• 98 owners keeps the facilities uncrowded and the common-cost pool small.
• Foreign buyers qualify from the first unit, with wide headroom over RM1M.

Established Stock Inside an Unfinished 152-Acre Masterplan

The Light Waterfront is a 152-acre plan, and 2017 completion means this building has been living through the rest of it being built. The Light City and Lightwater Residences are under construction nearby, Lightwater targeting 2028 — so expect hoarding, dust, haulage traffic and piling noise for a while yet, amenities arriving on the developer's timetable rather than yours, and fresh supply competing with your unit if you try to sell mid-build-out.

The upside is just as real. A finished masterplan is worth more than a half-built one, and owning completed stock inside a precinct that is still improving is a reasonable thesis for a patient buyer. But if you need quiet enjoyment this year, a 2017 building ringed by 2028 cranes is not where you will find it.

A RM1.73M Apartment and a RM9.5M Penthouse in the Same Lift

At 1,991 sqft and RM1.73M this is a large but ordinary premium home, and its competition is island-wide — Tanjung Tokong, Gurney, Pulau Tikus all offer something at that money. At 10,500 sqft and RM9.5M it competes with landed bungalows and with nothing else in Gelugor at all; that is a trophy unit whose plausible buyers you could count on two hands.

Two practical consequences. First, a quoted "Collection IV price" is meaningless until someone attaches a square footage. Second — and this is specific to a 98-unit building — at the top of the range there are almost no transactions to benchmark against. Buy a 10,000 sqft unit here and you are largely setting the price yourself, and so will the next seller. Fine going in if you want the space; harder coming out.

The Sweet Spot Sits Between RM722 and RM1,144 psf

In most towers larger units carry lower psf. Here the band is wide enough that you should check the relationship unit by unit instead of assuming it: a 2,000 sqft unit at RM1,144 and a 5,000 sqft unit at RM722 are completely different propositions from the same address.

My honest read is that value lives in the middle of the size range. The entry units fight a deep island-wide market at similar money; the 10,000 sqft units have no yardstick. The 3,000–5,000 sqft layouts are where the waterfront position is priced most sensibly, and where I would start if the brief is space on the water without trophy-asset exit risk. The live listings on the Light Collection IV page are best read through that lens.

98 Owners on the Water

Ninety-eight units is uncommon for a waterfront development of this scale, and the facility set is full — swimming pool, wading pool, gymnasium, tennis court, basketball court, jacuzzi, BBQ area and a children's playground. Across so few households that ratio means the courts are free when you want them.

The small pool cuts both ways, as it does in any low-density building approaching a decade old: capital works are split among 98 owners, so ask for the sinking fund position and any planned major expenditure before you commit.

Gelugor Itself, and Who Should Pass

Gelugor is the island's mid-point — roughly equidistant from George Town and Bayan Lepas, with USM nearby and direct expressway access. It is central and convenient; it is not a prestige address the way Gurney or Tanjung Tokong are, and at RM1.73M-plus you are paying for the waterfront masterplan specifically, not for Gelugor in general. The Gelugor area guide puts the corridor's cheaper stock in context.

Foreign buyers clear the RM1,000,000 island minimum comfortably at entry; on the RM1.73M unit, allow about RM52,000 for the 3% state levy and roughly RM138,000 for the flat 8% foreign stamp duty.

Who it suits: buyers who want waterfront with genuinely low density; space buyers in the 3,000–5,000 sqft middle; long holds prepared to sit through the build-out and own the finished article; foreign buyers with wide headroom over the threshold. Who should pass: anyone buying at the very top of the size range without accepting the comparables problem; buyers who want a prestige postcode; anyone who needs peace now; and yield investors — Gelugor averages around 5% gross, but on far cheaper stock, and at RM1.73M-plus the maths does not follow.

Sources: Asking prices, PSF, sizes, unit count, tenure, developer and completion year from our tracked dataset. Sub-sale asking verified from live portal listings using the median-anchored method — bait listings and relisted units excluded — August 2026. Gelugor area figures from our area data. Foreign-buyer threshold, 3% state levy and 8% foreign stamp duty per Penang state and federal rules.

The specific unit matters more here than the building. Tell me the square footage you want and I will tell you whether what is listed is priced sensibly against the rest of the island — including when the honest answer is that the same money goes further elsewhere.