About RM1.46M separates the entry prices of Penang's two "courtyard" addresses — and the gap is not really about the houses. Vilaris Courtyard Homes in Batu Uban, Gelugor sells from about RM1,860,000 at about RM482 psf: completed in 2016, keys available the day your purchase completes. Jesselton Courtyard by Berjaya Land currently lists its villas from about RM3,322,000, roughly RM1,050–1,200 psf, beside the Penang Turf Club, and is due in 2028. Both are freehold, residential-titled and gated. The gap buys one thing above all: the postcode.
Key takeaways:
- Vilaris Courtyard Homes: 56 units, three-storey courtyard terraces of 3,825–3,940 sqft, asking about RM1,860,000–3,500,000 (~RM482 psf), freehold residential title, completed 2016, 5.3 acres in The Sanctuary, Batu Uban.
- Jesselton Courtyard: 239 residences on 11.9 acres — 207 Courtyard Villas (2,734–5,176 sqft, strata-type title — plain strata or landed strata, to be confirmed — listed from about RM3,322,000) and 32 four-storey Courtyard Homes, zero-lot bungalows (6,649–9,053 sqft, currently from about RM8,111,000) — freehold, completion due 2028.
- The psf gap is stark: RM482 vs roughly RM1,050–1,200. You pay more than double per square foot for the Jesselton Selatan address and a brand-new product.
- Vilaris is buy-now, move-in-now; Jesselton Courtyard is a roughly two-year wait with construction-period holding costs.
- Verdict in short: value-first families near USM/the bridge → Vilaris. Legacy-address buyers already in the RM3M+ tier → Jesselton Courtyard.
At a Glance
| Factor | Vilaris Courtyard Homes | Jesselton Courtyard |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Warisan Pinang Sdn. Bhd. (Runnymede Group) | Berjaya Land Development Sdn. Bhd. |
| Location | The Sanctuary, Batu Uban, Gelugor | Persiaran Jesselton Selatan, Penang Turf Club |
| Tenure / title | Freehold, residential | Freehold, residential |
| Status | Completed 2016 (resale) | Under construction, due 2028 |
| Price | About RM1,860,000–3,500,000 (asking) | Villas from about RM3,322,000; courtyard homes from about RM8,111,000 |
| PSF | ~RM482 (asking) | ~RM1,050–1,200 |
| Units / land | 56 homes on 5.3 acres | 239 homes on 11.9 acres |
| Sizes | 3,825–3,940 sqft, 3-storey | Villas 2,734–5,176 sqft; homes 6,649–9,053 sqft |
| Zac's rating | 4.2 | 4.4 |
What "Courtyard" Actually Means at Each
The word is doing different work in each brochure.
At Vilaris, a courtyard home is a three-storey gated terrace of roughly 3,825–3,940 sqft designed around internal courtyard space — the last phase of the Runnymede Group's The Sanctuary masterplan, 56 homes over 5.3 acres. The facility list is deliberately modest: pool, playground, community garden, guardhouse, 24-hour security. No clubhouse, no tennis courts. It sells on land, title and location, not resort amenities.
At Jesselton Courtyard, "courtyard" spans two products. The 207 courtyard villas are 1.5- and 2-storey homes of 2,734–5,176 sqft — the two-storey six-bedroom versions come with private courtyards of 355–1,819 sqft and four parking bays each. The 32 courtyard homes are four-storey zero-lot bungalows of 6,649–9,053 sqft with six parking bays, currently listed from about RM8,111,000 — a different asset class entirely, competing with standalone bungalows on Jesselton proper.
So the honest comparison is Vilaris's terraces against Jesselton's villas. The bungalow tier at Jesselton has no Vilaris equivalent.
Completed-and-Ready vs Wait-for-VP
Vilaris was completed in 2016. That means: you view the actual house, you check the actual build quality, you inspect the management corporation's accounts, and you move in (or rent out) when the sale completes. A decade of operation also means the community has settled — you can see exactly what you're joining.
Jesselton Courtyard is due in 2028. Between now and then you carry progressive payments with no rental income and no use of the property, and you accept construction-stage risk on a project last fully checked in July 2026. Berjaya Land is a major listed developer and the Savills Singapore marketing gives the project institutional visibility — but a render is still a render until VP.
The flip side cuts the other way at Vilaris: a 2016 building is a 2016 building. Budget for renovation on top of the purchase price — most listings in this age band need work — and do your diligence on the sinking fund. At Jesselton you get a brand-new product with a defect liability period.
The Address: What the Turf Club Premium Is Really For
Here's the thing the psf table can't show. Batu Uban is a practical address — near USM, near the Penang Bridge, convenient to Queensbay — and Gelugor has become the genuine landed fallback for buyers priced out of the prestige postcodes. Nobody has ever paid a premium to say they live in Batu Uban, and that's precisely why RM482 psf is possible there.
The Jesselton and Turf Club area is the opposite: old-money Penang, low-rise by long convention, next to Kensington Gardens and the racecourse greenery, minutes from St Christopher's International School and Gleneagles. Freehold landed enclaves simply do not get created there anymore — 11.9 acres of new landed supply beside the Turf Club is a once-a-generation event, which is why my rating leans on scarcity. Scarcity is what holds price through cycles.
Whether that's worth roughly double the psf depends entirely on whether you're buying shelter or standing. Both are legitimate purchases. They're just different purchases.
The Foreign-Buyer Angle
For foreign buyers the two work differently. At Jesselton Courtyard the bungalows are clearly above RM3M; for the villas, the floor depends on whether they are issued strata title (RM1M) or landed-strata title (RM3M), and launch pricing has started below RM3M, so confirm both before you book. Vilaris is landed, so it's open to MM2H buyers from RM500,000, but only its largest homes reach the RM3M that other foreign buyers need. Jesselton Courtyard has also been marketed to buyers in Singapore through Savills.
The cost breakdown on either: 3% Penang foreign-buyer levy (RM55,800 on a RM1.86M Vilaris; RM99,660 on a RM3.322M Jesselton villa), flat 8% stamp duty for foreigners (RM148,800 vs RM265,760 at those prices), state consent of about 3–4 months, and roughly 70% financing. On exit, foreign RPGT runs 30% in years 1–5 and 10% from year six — it never reaches zero, so model your hold with the RPGT calculator before you buy either.
The Catch on Each
Vilaris's catch is liquidity, both ways. Only 56 homes exist and landed stock this size rarely lists — good for holders, frustrating for buyers, and it means the RM1.86M–3.5M asking band is indicative rather than deep market evidence. Add the 2016-vintage diligence: sinking fund, MC accounts, renovation budget. My full Vilaris Courtyard Homes review covers what to check.
Jesselton Courtyard's catch is the ticket and the structure. About RM3.32M is the floor, not the norm — the six-bedroom villas and the bungalow tier run far higher — so it only works if this is the tier you already shop in. And note how the developer's own material describes the 207 villas: low-rise homes within a managed, gated scheme. Confirm in writing whether your unit carries an individual title or a strata title, because that changes your management fees, your autonomy over the home, and your resale paperwork. Not every figure for this project has been verified yet, so treat every figure here as confirm-before-signing.
Verdict: Who Should Buy Which
Buy Vilaris Courtyard Homes if you want maximum landed square footage per ringgit on the island, you need to move in (or start earning rent) now, or your life runs on the USM–bridge–Queensbay axis. At RM482 psf for a freehold gated terrace, it's one of the most rational landed buys in gated-community Penang — just budget for the renovation.
Buy Jesselton Courtyard if the address is the point: you're a legacy buyer, a returning Penangite, or a foreign purchaser who wants house-like space in a gated, low-rise development in a postcode that cannot be reproduced, and RM3M+ doesn't strain the plan. The scarcity argument is real.
Skip both if you want rental yield — large landed homes in Penang rent poorly relative to price, and both projects are own-stay or hold-for-appreciation assets, not income machines. And skip Jesselton if waiting until 2028 breaks your timeline; skip Vilaris if only a brand-new home will do.
I can show you actual Vilaris listings this week and walk you through Jesselton Courtyard's current price list side by side. WhatsApp me — seeing both in one afternoon usually makes the decision for you.