Commercial banks can refuse to issue loans to buyers of their third home in areas suffering from excess property price rise, said the State Council, or the Cabinet, on Saturday.

To curb speculation, banks can also halt loans to those who can't provide materials to prove they had lived and paid taxes and social insurances for at least one year in cities where they intended to buy houses, according to a statement on the central government's website.

The statement also urged local governments to take any necessary measures to put restrictions on the number of homes to be bought in a certain period of time.

Tax policies should be employed to adjust consumption for housing and earnings on property development, according to the statement.

(Xinhua News Agency April 17, 2010)