The authorities in a number of northern and eastern cities, such as Beijing, Hangzhou and Xiamen, have rolled out stricter measures to dampen property purchases and cool the real estate market.

The measures have been introduced against the backdrop of continually rising housing prices since October, even after many cities initiated a spate of demand-dampening policies aimed at preventing real estate prices from rising too fast.

Obviously, the October round of tightening measures failed to thwart China's affluent buyers, forcing policymakers to show more teeth.