On November 3, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MHURD) announced that it will block the public housing fund mortgage for third home buyers, a move to further curb property speculation.

The announcement was made in a circular jointly issued by the MHURD, the Ministry of Finance, the People's Bank of China, and the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

The ministry has also placed a restriction on second home buyers—second home buyers with a per-capita living area higher than the local average level cannot apply for the public housing fund mortgage.

Minimum down payments for second homes buyers are no less than 50 percent of the total price, and the public housing fund mortgage interest rate will be slightly more for second home buyers than first home buyers, the circular said.