SINGAPORE - The largest flat launch to date will be held in the second half of November, said the Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Thursday (Nov 12).

A "bumper crop" of about 12,000 new units, consisting of 7,000 Build-to-Order (BTO) flats in six towns (Bidadari, Punggol Northshore, Bukit Batok, Chua Chu Kang, Hougang and Sengkang) and 5,000 Sale of Balance flats, will be offered for sale.

Then-National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan had first announced in September that the "mega launch" would merge two BTO flat launches, which were originally scheduled for September and November.

A decision was made to delay the September exercise, said Mr Khaw, as it wanted to allow more home buyers to benefit from the new housing policies first put forth by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his National Day Rally speech on Aug 23.

HDB is also extending the application period for the "mega launch" from the usual seven calendar days to 10 calendar days, so as to give prospective flat buyers more time to carefully consider the wide range of flats on offer.

It urged people not to rush to submit their applications, as flat applications are not processed on a first-come-first-served basis.

All information on the BTO and Sale of Balance flats will be made available on the HDB InfoWEB.