Ministry vows resolute curb on property market

BEIJING -- The Ministry of Land and Resources vowed Thursday to resolutely implement property market regulations and ensure market supplies.

The ministry will enhance monitoring of land development and curb market volatility.

The statement followed Premier Wen Jiabao's pledge last week to continue real estate market curbs, even after growth in the world's second-largest economy has slowed.

As a result of the government's regulation policies, speculation and investment in the sector have been effectively curbed, putting the overall market on a downward track, the ministry said.

It noted that land supplies for the real estate sector totaled 59,700 hectares in the first half of the year, 1.26 times as much as the average level for the same period over the past five years. Meanwhile, increases in land prices continued to ease in the first half of the year.

In May, 43 cities out of a statistical pool of 70 major cities saw drops in new home prices from April, while new home prices in 21 cities remained the same, according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics.