With financial distress lingering, Chinese property developers are facing some serious headwinds.

By August 15, 40 listed real estate developers had released their first-half financial reports, reporting a dizzying average debt-toasset ratio of 61.13 percent, say financial data provider Shanghai Wind Information Co. Ltd.

Policymakers have stepped up a stringent clampdown on bank financing to developers as part of its efforts to let air out of the housing bubble.

The financial woes remain bearable for most property developers, but the situation might worsen if their sales volume continues to plunge, said Gu Yunchang, Deputy Director of the China Real Estate and Housing Research Association.

Housing prices in 70 large and mediumsized cities rose 10.3 percent year on year in July. It was the third consecutive month that the prices rose at a slower pace and the lowest rate in six months.

Signs are emerging realtors have been succumbing to the pressure. Yongshun Real Estate Development Co. Ltd., for instance, has cut prices at a residence project in east Beijing by 20 percent.

The government will adhere to the austerity measures in the housing sector, including striking hard against speculation and increasing supplies of affordable houses, said Vice Premier Li Keqiang, during a recent visit to Changzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province.