'Due to the country's limited land resources and growing demand for housing, property prices in China are bound not to be cheap,' the newspaper quoted him as saying.

Qiu added that low levels of China is unlikely to launch new measures to rein in rapid economic growth because signs are emerging that fixed-asset investment is slowing and rising property prices have moderated, The Standard reported, citing the director of the National Bureau of Statistics.

Qiu Xiaohua told the newspaper that measures taken by the central government this year to cool overheated sectors have started to take effect, so further tightening measures are unnecessary.

'As the measures that have been put into place are effective, we will continue with them and keep a close eye on their outcome to ensure better implementation,' the newspaper quoted Qiu as saying.

China's fixed-asset investment in August was up 21.5 percent year-on-year but down 5.9 percentage points from July, which in turn was down 6.1 percentage points from the 3.5 percent growth in June.

Property prices climbed 5.5 percent year on year in August, slightly lower than the 5.7 percent and 5.8 percent rises in July and June.

Qiu attributed the slowdown to the effectiveness of controls, adding that the economy can achieve sustainable growth, the newspaper said.

He said that investment is the most important of the three economic drivers, ahead of consumption and exports.

Qiu also said that property prices will continue to go up in the long-term but at a slower pace because of rising land prices, higher compensation and relocation fees and stronger demand for better housing from 'real end-users' owing to higher living standards.

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