This means the number of residents planning to buy homes has dropped 1 percentage point from the previous quarter and 3.8 percentage points from the same period a year ago, a record low.

The decline in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai was the most obvious, the central bank said.

Qi Jingmei, a senior economist with the State Information Centre, said urban residents' wait-and-see attitude was mainly because they are wondering whether the government will carry out further measures to regulate the housing market.

"They are hoping the government will reform its present land leasing system, which now requires home buyers to pay land leasing fees included in housing prices," she said.

A new system is expected to be adopted by the housing market, which allows home buyers to pay land leasing fees over a 50 - 70 year period.

This will help alleviate financial pressure.

"People are also hoping that the government will build more homes that are affordable," said Qi.

However, she believed the housing market would pick up this year.

"People will eventually realize that the country's macro-control measures are not aimed at hitting the real estate market," she said.

House prices will continue to rise although the growth rate will decline, she said.

Gu Yunchang, secretary-general of the China Real Estate Association, said the government's macro-control measures have already achieved their goal.

"Supply is not that much, new houses that are still empty are fewer, and prices have become stable," he said.