The verdict
4.8/ 5Ayer Itam isn't where most buyers think to look for a RM1.9 million freehold home, but that's exactly the point here.
- Price
- from RM1.90M
- Tenure
- Freehold
- Land title
- Residential
- Completion
- 2019
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.
You have been shopping the northern coast for freehold landed and each time the search widens the price does too. Then somebody says "have you looked at Ayer Itam?" and your first reaction is that it is not where you thought you wanted to live. RM1.899 million at Urban Living Residence buys you 4,492 sqft of freehold, residential-titled landed with a private lift per unit. On the per-square-foot line, that is about RM422 — a number that no Tanjung Tokong or Gurney address can match without adding a zero to the sticker.
This review answers the honest question. Is the roughly RM1.5 million you save relative to a similar-size branded scheme on the coast a real trade — or does Ayer Itam quietly cost you back on the resale side?
Short version. Urban Living Residence (often listed as UL Residence) is a 93-unit freehold landed enclave in Ayer Itam developed by Oriental Max Group, completed around 2019. All units are 4,492 sqft built-up with a built-in private lift. Gated and guarded, resident clubhouse, landscaped garden walkway, private rooftop. Subsale asking starts from RM1.899 million (about RM422 psf).
Key takeaways:
- Urban Living Residence sells you serious floor area at an unusually low PSF — 4,492 sqft per unit for roughly RM422 psf freehold, on residential title.
- The built-in private lift per unit is the specific spec that justifies most of the pricing premium over generic Ayer Itam terrace stock.
- Ayer Itam is a busier, more built-up part of the island than the coastal enclaves — that is exactly why the entry price is where it is.
- Both foreign buyers and MM2H holders qualify cleanly above the RM1 million island floor.
- The catch: this is a 2019 completion at a 93-unit scale, not boutique. And "landed with a private lift" comes with lift servicing costs that you should model, not assume away.
What Urban Living Residence actually is
Ayer Itam is the corridor that runs inland from Farlim toward Penang Hill. It is one of the older, denser residential belts on the island — heavily local, well-served by wet markets and hawker centres, and traditionally a place where landed inventory is either 1980s-90s terrace stock or the occasional newer enclave squeezed into a redevelopment plot.
Urban Living Residence is one of those newer enclaves. Ninety-three units, completed in 2019, with a spec sheet that reads more like a coastal upgrader project than a typical Ayer Itam landed scheme: private lift per unit, private rooftop, gated and guarded perimeter, resident clubhouse. Oriental Max Group is a mid-tier local developer — the enclave stands on its own product spec, not on developer name recognition.
Uniform 4,492 sqft per unit is worth pausing on. Every unit is the same size. That is unusual, and it matters at resale — direct like-for-like comparables inside the enclave itself, no "my unit is bigger than the last transaction" arguments.
The three things you are actually paying for
At roughly RM1.9 million and RM422 psf, buyers here are paying for three specific things you cannot get together anywhere on the northern coast.
The first is raw floor area. Four thousand five hundred square feet built-up on a residential-titled freehold landed home under RM2 million is genuinely rare on Penang Island. On the coast the same money buys you a two-bedroom sea-view condo.
The second is the private lift per unit. On a multi-storey landed home that changes the way you live in the house, and — more practically — extends the number of years you can stay past 65 without renovating for accessibility. If elderly parents are part of the plan, this is not a nice-to-have.
The third is a residential title on freehold land. That combination clears every question at bank-valuation and at foreign-buyer state-consent time. No commercial-HDA workaround, no leasehold clock, no "confirm the title class with the developer" footnote.
The Ayer Itam address — what you gain and give up
The trade every Urban Living Residence buyer makes is location versus size. Here is the honest read on both sides.
What Ayer Itam gives you: proximity to a genuine hawker-and-market culture, direct access to the Penang Hill funicular for weekend hikes, and — critically for this price band — commute distance to the specialist hospital cluster and to Gurney Plaza that is closer than most people assume. Gleneagles Penang and Island Hospital are both about 5 km away. Gurney Plaza is 5.5 km. Sunshine Farlim Mall is 1 km. Aeon Big Ayer Itam is 1.5 km. This is not a suburb where you need to plan every trip.
What it takes back: it is not the coast. There is no sea view, no beach walk, no Tanjung Tokong or Gurney lifestyle line. Traffic on the main Ayer Itam feeder can be heavy at school and evening peaks. And the postcode itself does not carry the resale narrative that a Tanjung Tokong or Pulau Tikus address does — the next buyer will value the specific enclave, not the neighbourhood name.
Layout, price and PSF — the numbers you actually decide on
| What you should ask about | Where Urban Living Residence sits |
|---|---|
| Built-up (sqft) | 4,492 (uniform across all units) |
| Bedrooms | 4 |
| Freehold or leasehold | Freehold, residential title |
| Entry subsale asking | From about RM1.899M |
| Approximate PSF | RM422 on built-up |
| Completion year | 2019 |
| Total units | 93 |
| Signature spec | Built-in private lift per unit |
At RM422 psf you are, in effect, paying condo money per square foot for landed. That number is the reason to look; the rest of the review is about whether the enclave and the corridor around it actually earn the deal.
Who this actually fits — and who should walk
Urban Living Residence works for you if:
- You want serious floor area for RM1.8-2.2 million on freehold landed and you are willing to be off the coast to get it.
- You are a multi-generational household — the private lift is a real feature for elderly parents on the ground floor, and 4,492 sqft absorbs three generations without stepping on each other.
- Your daily orbit already runs through Ayer Itam, Farlim, Air Itam wet market and the specialist hospital cluster — this address makes that day cheaper and quicker, not more expensive.
- You are a foreign buyer or MM2H holder looking for freehold landed under RM2 million with clean title paperwork.
Look elsewhere if:
- You are buying primarily for address value and coastal lifestyle. The Ayer Itam postcode does not carry Tanjung Tokong resale premium, and pretending otherwise will disappoint you on exit.
- You want a boutique, low-density enclave. Ninety-three units is not intimate — it is a proper community, not a private handful of neighbours.
- You are stretching to RM1.9 million and would rather have a smaller condo in Pulau Tikus or Tanjung Tokong. Different buyer profile, different exit.
The foreign-buyer math — clean qualification, real cash-in
Urban Living Residence sits comfortably above the RM1,000,000 Penang Island foreign minimum, so this is straightforward qualification for foreign and MM2H buyers.
Budget for these on top of the RM1.899 million sticker:
- Penang state levy: 3% of the full purchase price. On RM1.899M that is RM56,970, one-time.
- Stamp duty (SPA and MOT): flat 8% for foreigners. That is RM151,920 on RM1.899M. The tiered 1-4% scale is the citizen rate — do not use it here.
- State consent (COSA): 3-4 months, handled by your lawyer. Plan the payment schedule around it.
- Foreign LTV: expect about 70% at most banks.
- RPGT on exit: 30% for years 1-5, 10% from year 6 onwards. Foreigners never reach 0%.
Levy plus stamp duty alone is roughly RM208,890 in cash before you get the keys. That is on top of the deposit and the balance financing gap. Model it before you fall for a specific listing.
The catch — what to check before you offer
Every honest review names the trade-off. Three real ones here.
Private lift per unit means private lift servicing per unit. Ask specifically how the servicing is contracted — is it centralised via the management corporation or is each owner on their own contract — and what the annual cost is running today. A lift is a beautiful feature until it is a bill.
Ninety-three units is a proper community, not a boutique enclave. The maintenance and sinking-fund dynamics are those of a small township, not a handful of neighbours. Read the last two AGM minutes before you commit. A well-run 93-unit enclave is stable; a badly-run one is a headache that outlasts any Gurney parking dispute.
Ayer Itam traffic is real on the school-run peak. If your household includes daily school drop-offs at Uplands or Dalat, or a spouse commuting to Bayan Lepas, drive the actual route at 7:30 am on a school day before you sign. The map distance is friendlier than the lived one.
Vs the obvious alternative — smaller Tanjung Tokong condo
Buyers at RM1.8-2 million on Penang Island are almost always choosing between two products, not two neighbourhoods: 4,492 sqft of freehold landed inland, or a 1,200-1,400 sqft freehold sea-view condo on the coast.
Urban Living Residence is the extreme end of the "size" answer. If your household actually uses four bedrooms and multiple living zones, this is not a close call — you get 3x the floor area at the same money. If your household is two adults and a helper's room, and you spend your weekends at Gurney Paragon anyway, the coastal condo is the right buy.
The mistake is buying Urban Living Residence for its price alone and then discovering, six months in, that you never actually needed the size. That is the way this decision goes wrong.
FAQ
See the FAQ section at the top of this article for the plain-English answers to what most Urban Living Residence buyers ask us.
Sources
- Penang Property Talk — Urban Living Residence launch coverage: https://www.penangpropertytalk.com/2014/02/urban-living-residence/
- PropXpress — UL Residence Ayer Itam project overview: https://propxpress.com/ul-residence-ayer-itam-penang/
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Disclaimer: This review is for information only and is not tax, legal or investment advice. Prices, availability and regulatory figures change — confirm current numbers with the seller and your appointed lawyer before you offer. Zac Ong is a licensed real estate negotiator (REN 64593) with PropNex Penang.