Heavy tax to dampen speculation(2)

Potential home buyers and sellers are also waiting for the coming two sessions of the nation's legislature and advisory body to see if more detailed real estate policies will be launched.

"Some of our clients decided to put their homes up for sale after the annual session of the National People's Congress in early March, as they are waiting for a clear picture and will decide on the sales price afterwards," said Hou Zhanzi, a sales agent with HomeLink, a Beijing-based real estate agent company.

Property prices in China's major cities saw a ninth consecutive monthly increase in February, with more reporting a price hike, statistics from a real estate research institute showed on Friday.

According to China Index Academy, a Beijing-based real estate research institute, the average price of new homes in 100 monitored cities was 9,893 yuan ($1,587) per square meter during the month, up 0.83 percent from January.

The month-on-month growth rate, according to the academy's figure, is down 0.17 percentage points from the previous month.

However, on a yearly basis, the growth was 2.48 percent in February, compared with a 1.2 percent year-on-year increase in January. It was the third time for 100 cities to see a price increase on a yearly basis, with the growth rate further accelerating.

Meanwhile, 10 more cities reported a price hike in February than the previous month, while the number of cities experiencing a price drop fell by nine from January.

The average home price in the key cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, stood at 16,596 yuan per sq m, an increase of 1.09 percent from the previous month and up 4.32 percent over the same period last year.

The continuous rising home price has triggered worries of mounting risks in the country's property market.