(Yicai Global) Aug. 6 -- Seven Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, tightened property market regulations again in the last month to curb rising prices, Securities Daily reported today.

Hangzhou in eastern China issued a new real estate policy yesterday, for the third time this year. It raised the barrier to purchasing a home by requiring households registered in the city for less than five years to pay social insurance locally for 24 straight months before buying a house.

Beijing also issued a policy yesterday to prevent couples misusing divorce to buy a new home. Couples who own two or more properties in the capital city will not be allowed to purchase houses there within three years of the date of the divorce.

Shanghai, Guangzhou, Dongguan and Wuhan have also introduced rules to strengthen management in terms of funding sources and housing qualifications, with a particular focus on the illegal use of bank loans for real estate purchases.

China real estate market will continue to cool, especially in key first- and second-tier cities and overheated third- and fourth-tier cities according to Yan Yuejin, research director of the think tank at E-House China Research and Development Institute.

House prices continued to rise in the first half even though the government has maintained a high degree of market control in recent years. The average cost of a new home reached CNY10,485 (USD1,622) per square meter at the end of June, according to data released last month by the National Bureau of Statistics.

Editor: Tom Litting