In cities where prices are rising fast, more land should be made available for building residential housing, while de-stocking must continue in smaller cities.

Real interest rates are rising following the increase to the standing lending facility (SLF) rate a week ago, a move widely seen as a heavy blow to the property market, coming only weeks after the Central Economic Work Conference said that in 2017 China will "take control of" the money supply at the macro level. Credit policy at the micro level should support the reasonable purchase of homes as residences and tightly restrict credit in speculation.

If the overall monetary stance continues to tighten, it may provoke a genuine turning point in China's monetary environment, causing the real estate market to cool even further.

Authorities are already walking a tightrope between curbing speculation and crazy prices, and clamping down too hard on a sector which has proved not only a significant growth driver, but also notoriously fickle.

The real estate market played a big part in 2016 growth, which might have been at a 26-year low, but was still well within the target range and significantly better than any other large economy.

Of 70 large and medium-sized cities surveyed, 46 saw prices for new residential housing climb month on month in December, down from 55 in November and 62 in October, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

January's figures for large and medium-sized cities will be released on Feb. 22.

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