George Town

What it is like

The heritage core is the only part of Penang where what you may do to a building is written down before you buy it. Category I and II listings inside the UNESCO zone control the facade, the roof line, the party walls and often the air-well. That is not a reason to avoid it — restored shophouses on Lebuh Acheh and Lebuh Melayu have held value better than most strata on the island — but it means the survey and the conservation position matter more than the asking price. Rental demand splits between long-let residential in the buffer zone and commercial tenants who want a frontage.

The stock

Pre-war shophouses, converted townhouses, a handful of new strata blocks on the edge of the core.

Works well for

• Buyers who want a building rather than a unit
• Owner-occupiers who will restore rather than gut
• Commercial tenants wanting a heritage frontage

Worth checking

• Conservation category dictates the scope of works
• Party-wall and air-well repairs are shared problems
• Parking is genuinely difficult