More cities take measures to control property market

SHANGHAI -- In an effort to stabilize its red-hot property market, Shanghai has adopted a set of measures, including increasing land supply and strengthening supervision of capital.

According to the measures published on Saturday, the city will increase the supply of land for commercial housing construction. A work team composed of staff from government departments will be formed to regulate the funding sources for land purchases.

The city will also enhance supervision over the purchase of homes that have previously been owned but never used. Stricter supervision over new home prices will also be implemented.

Additionally, authoritative property market information will be released on a regular basis to stabilize market expectations.

Shanghai is among a dozen Chinese cities struggling to cool property markets.

Also on Saturday, Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi province, adopted a spate of measures to restrict home buying.

In certain districts of the city, local residents who own one or more houses will not be allowed to buy new homes. People without a local hukou (household registration certificate) who own one or more houses will not be able to buy either new or pre-owned houses.

First-time home buyers will be required to make a minimum down payment of 30 percent, compared to 20 percent previously.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, over 90 percent of cities surveyed in August reported new home price rises, up from 73 percent in July. Prices in Shanghai rose 37.8 percent year-on-year respectively, compared with 33.1 percent in July.