Overall cash premiums for Housing Board (HDB) resale flats continued to drop, in line with experts' prediction that it will reach $10,000 by year's end.

Overall cash-over-valuation (COV) fell another $3,000 in October to reach $12,000, according to Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX) flash estimates released on Friday morning. This is the lowest since July 2009, when the overall COV was $10,000.

HDB resale prices slipped 1.6 per cent in October, following a slight gain of 0.2 per cent in September. This represents a 2.8 per cent drop from the price peak in January this year.

With prices falling, more flats changed hands with 1,318 flats were sold on the resale market, a 26.5 per cent increase from September's 1,042 cases. However, October's resale volume is still a 20 per cent drop from the same period last year. The rental market continued strong with an estimated 1,506 HDB flats rented out in October 2013, up by 7.7 per cent compared to September.