Regulator warns four cities to keep property prices in check

China's housing regulator has warned four Chinese cities over price rises in the past three months, the Economic Observer reported.

Local governments of Foshan, Suzhou, Dalian and Nanning were urged by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development to stabilize land and housing prices as well as market expectations.

This came a month after six other cities were also warned over similar reasons on April 19.

Zhang Dawei, chief analyst with Centaline Property, said the main reason behind this is the real estate market in some cities is at risk of going out of control, and the land market shows signs of overheating.

China's house prices continued to stabilize despite slight increases in April, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Sixty-seven out of the 70 major Chinese cities saw an increase in the number of newly built homes that were sold in April.

On a month-on-month basis, new home prices in Dalian and Nanning rose 0.7 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively. On a year-on-year basis, new house prices in these cities grew 13.2 percent and 11.5 percent, respectively.

Although excluded from the 70 major Chinese cities surveyed by the National Bureau of Statistics, Foshan and Suzhou also saw a surge in home prices in April.

There are signs that the central government will not change its resolution to control house prices, Zhang said, adding that in the future the real estate market will continue to crack down on speculation.

On May 11, Suzhou tightened housing policies further, China Daily earlier reported. The down payment ratio for a family's first home purchase has been raised from 20 percent to 30 percent.

Newly built property in certain parts of the city cannot be traded for a three-year period after purchase, and for five years in the case of pre-owned property.