Home price curbs expected to spread

More cities may follow suit after 19, including Beijing, launched cooling measures in the past week to rein in housing price increases, said analysts.

The measures announced by the cities during the seven-day National Day holiday included higher mortgage down payments and home purchase restrictions to curb speculation.

However, "more lower-tier cities may join the move against speculative home purchase soon, particularly those that have low inventory for the next six months and fast price growth in the past six months," said a research note by CITIC Securities.