No loosening of property curbs: Official

China's real estate regulator reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining current restrictions on property sales on Tuesday, signaling a warning for local governments who are implementing or seek to implement measures to boost the market under the name of "stabilizing economic growth".

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development denied recent reports in domestic media claiming the government was planning to loosen real estate policy, emphasizing that policies targeting real estate speculation and price inflation would remain in place.

He said the ministry would require relevant city governments to rigorously implement cooling policies to contain speculative and investment purchases.

"On the one hand, we should continue the credit and tax support for first-time home buyers. On the other hand, various measures should be consolidated to curb speculative and investment demand," he said.

More than 30 cities have rolled out or fine-tuned policies in the property sector aimed at boosting the market since the second half of 2011, China Business Herald reported.

These policies have included: more flexible conditions for land grants, more favorable interest rates for first-time buyers, loosening of the upper limit for house buyers who use low-interest provident fund loans and reductions in transaction-related taxes and fees.

The spokesperson said the central government will take measures to increase market supply, properly handle disputes caused by price declines and increase affordable housing for low-income earners.

The government plans to build more than 7 million affordable houses this year.

zhengyangpeng@chinadaily.com.cn