The central government's policy leaves room for local governments to apply their own interpretation of the rules in either a stricter or milder way for families holding more than one new commercial apartment. Forthcoming statistics will clarify market uncertainties, said Ma Ji, consulting manager at Shanghai Centaline China, a Hong Kong-based property consultancy.

Following the release by Beijing and Shenzhen of their detailed regulations, Shanghai is about to release its version. "The policies won't differ much from the existing State regulations and will not be stricter. Shanghai will make a prudent decision after seeing the feedback and effectiveness of other local government regulations," said Chen Jie, a professor at Fudan University.

Li Shaoming, an analyst from China Jianyin Investment Securities, predicted that property companies would see their cash flows tightened in the fourth quarter this year, and by that time some first-tier cities' property prices will have shed more than 30 percent, while some second-tier cities' house price will have dropped by as much as 15 percent. "The government will keep a close watch on urban property market data for May before making a further decision on the housing market," Li said.

Seven out of the 99 real estate-related companies that Orient Securities monitors reached their daily upper limit of 10 percent on Monday. Shanghai-listed Poly Real Estate Group Co surged 8.87 percent to close at 12.15 yuan while sector heavyweight China Vanke rose 4.19 percent.