Seventeen cities, including Beijing, Guangzhou, Changsha, and Shijiazhuang, have announced or escalated restrictions on house purchases up to now. 

This follows the central government's inclusion of curbing rising house prices in key cities in this year's government work report. 

The Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development last Friday issued a new policy stipulating that the down payment for the first house not for personal use shall be no less than 40 percent of the total, while that for the second of such kind shall be no less than 80 percent. The initial payment for the second house for non-investment purpose shall be 60 percent or higher of the total. 

The city's new regulation pushes China's housing price control to a new level, and also marks that China's four first-tier cities - Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen - are all restricting house purchases based on both the number of houses registered under buyers' names and house loan records. 

At the same time, smaller cities around first-tier cities, such as Zhuozhou and Laishui of Hebei province, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and Jiashan of Zhejiang province, are also limiting house purchases to cool buying frenzy. 

Yan Yuejin, research director of the E-house China R&D Institute, told NBD that the enhanced regulation is aimed at controlling zooming house prices, balancing house purchases and supplies, and meeting the rigid demand.

Email: lansuying@nbd.com.cn