New Development vs Subsale Factory in Selangor: Cost, Timing and Operational Trade-Offs

Start with the stock that actually exists

NAPIC’s Central Region Property Market Report 2025 recorded 43,766 existing industrial units in Selangor at year-end, with 1,624 units in incoming supply and 984 in planned supply. During 2025, 156 industrial units were completed, 280 started construction and 520 entered new planned supply. Completed but unsold industrial units stood at 28; another 211 unsold units were under construction.

Those figures establish a market with a large existing base and a much smaller development pipeline. They do not provide a clean official price split between new-development and subsale factories. Any claim that one route carries a standard Selangor-wide premium would therefore need separate project-level and transaction evidence.

The practical comparison is not “new versus old.” It is certainty purchased at each stage. A new development may offer current specifications and a coordinated handover, but completion, documents and utility delivery may still sit in the future. A subsale building can be inspected today, but its title, alterations, maintenance history and compliance record must survive forensic review.

New development: specify the handover, not the brochure

For a new factory, the sale and purchase documents should identify exactly what completion means. Record the target delivery condition, approved building plans, certificate of completion and compliance, utility scope, road access, drainage, fire systems, floor loading, electrical maximum demand, testing records and the process for unresolved defects. Treat every brochure feature as unconfirmed until it appears in a binding document or approved plan.

Development approval is not a single checkbox. KPKT’s OSC 3.0 Plus manual treats planning permission, engineering plans, building plans, temporary permits, construction notifications, inspections and CCC deposition as distinct parts of the development process, supported by submission checklists. That is why a promised completion month should never be separated from the actual approval and construction status.

Power can control the operating date. TNB’s Electricity Supply Application Handbook says applications above 100A require an appointed electrical consultant engineer. It also places settlement of connection charges after local authority or OSC approval and completion of TNB’s work plan. TNB separately states that new infrastructure or an upgrade for extra supply can attract an upfront connection charge. Ask who owns each application, payment, substation obligation and energisation dependency.

Operator inference: new development is strongest when the required specification is written into the contract and the business can absorb delivery variance. “Brand new” on its own is not a technical specification.

Subsale: inspect the building, then audit its history

A subsale factory gives the technical team access to a real roof, floor, yard, switchboard and drainage system. Use that advantage. Inspect under load where possible, review maintenance and incident records, test water ingress, survey structure and levels, and compare every extension or mezzanine against approved plans.

The legal work is equally operational. Selangor’s Land and Mines Office states that consent is required before transferring a title that contains a restriction in interest, and that consent applications are handled through e-Tanah. Its FAQ also addresses subsales where blanket consent exists but the earlier purchaser has not yet been registered. The conveyancer should establish the title position, registered owner, tenure, express conditions, restrictions, charges and consent route before the business commits to a move date.

Occupancy and licensing documents need local confirmation. As one municipal example, Subang Jaya City Council’s current business and advertisement licence checklist asks for CF or CCC and a stamped tenancy agreement, sale and purchase agreement, or land title for privately owned land. The same form expressly covers factories, light industry and warehouses. Requirements vary by local authority and activity, so obtain the applicable checklist from the correct PBT rather than assuming a previous operator’s licence transfers with the building.

Fire obligations also attach to use, not merely age. Under the Fire Services Act 1988, an application for a fire certificate for designated premises can require plans and an inspection, and the Director General must be satisfied with the fire-fighting equipment and safety installations before issuing the certificate. Confirm whether the proposed operation makes the premises designated and what upgrades are needed.

Compare total route cost, not price per square foot

Both routes can hide material costs. Use a single schedule tied to the planned production date.

• Acquisition — New development: Contract price, financing, professional costs and applicable duty Subsale: Agreed price, financing, valuation, professional costs and applicable duty
• Time carry — New development: Rent overlap, delayed machinery installation and financing carry if handover moves Subsale: Vacancy or rent overlap while searches, consent, repairs and completion are resolved
• Building work — New development: Fit-out beyond developer scope, foundations, racking, offices and process services Subsale: Immediate repairs, roof or floor work, removal of old fit-out and regularisation of alterations
• Utilities — New development: New connection, substation, deposits, internal distribution and commissioning Subsale: Capacity verification, arrears clearance where relevant, upgrade, rewiring and commissioning
• Compliance — New development: Confirmation that approved plans, CCC, fire and licence pathway match the proposed use Subsale: Audit of title, approved plans, CCC/CF, prior alterations, fire status and licence pathway
• Exit exposure — New development: Unproven estate operations, management rules and future surrounding development Subsale: Building age, accumulated maintenance, obsolete layout and future buyer objections

LHDN states that stamp duty applies to instruments and that property transfer instruments can attract ad valorem duty. A new purchase and a subsale purchase therefore both require a current duty assessment; “new” is not an automatic transaction-tax exemption. TNB’s connection framework also applies when new or additional electrical infrastructure is required, regardless of the building’s marketing label.

Let the operating deadline choose the route

Begin with the last responsible date for trial production, not the desired signing date. Work backwards through machine delivery, foundations, power energisation, fire and licence submissions, fit-out, possession and transaction conditions. Put evidence beside each dependency and assign one accountable party.

Choose a new development when the operation genuinely benefits from a documented modern specification, the developer’s delivery package covers critical infrastructure, and the company can carry schedule uncertainty. Choose a subsale when the building can be fully investigated, its documents reconcile with what exists on site, utilities already meet the process, and closing plus rectification fits the operating deadline. These are decision inferences, not universal market rules.

Reject either route if a critical item remains unverifiable: permitted use, ownership, access, approved structure, occupancy documentation, fire pathway, electrical capacity or discharge route. Conditions precedent should describe the evidence required, the responsible party, the deadline and the remedy if it fails. A vague promise to “settle before handover” is not a control.

The better factory is the one that reaches compliant production with the smaller credible range of total cost and delay. Sometimes that is a new unit. Sometimes it is a well-documented subsale building. The label is secondary; operational certainty is the asset being purchased.