Shanghai, Shenzhen move to tame surging property prices

"It is just a matter of time for Beijing to announce similar tightening policy as its counterparts did," said Zhang Dawei, chief analyst at Centaline Property Agency Ltd.

New-home prices in Beijing increased 12.9 percent in February from a year ago, and that of used homes soared 27.7 percent year-on-year.

Zhang said measures being considered by Beijing may include stricter regulations on property agents, increased tax, tighter credit line for second homes and more land supply.

Chen Sheng, executive president of the China Real Estate Data Academy, said the new policies are necessary to show local governments' efforts in taming the overheated market, but for the long-term health of the market, they should try to strike a balance in the supply and demand.

"Up to 30 percent of the land supply in Shanghai goes for industry use at the moment, while the portion in cosmopolitan cities of New York and London is less than 5 percent," Chen said.

"The supply shortage may ease if the local government allot more land for property use," he suggested.

"The municipal government will increase land supply to solve the supply shortage in home market and an information publishing system will be set up to trace the home supply condition for the public," said Gu Jinshan, director of Shanghai Housing and Urban-Rural Development Management Committee.

There will be 169 hectares more land supply for commercial housing this year than that of 2015, and the total land supply of the 13th Five-Year Plan period will exceed that of the 2011-15 period, according to Gu.