[advertise]广告[/advertise]THE Central Government was discussing measures to stop housing prices from rising too fast in a number of cities, the State Council said Monday. Since growth in the housing market had returned to a month-on-month basis in March, housing prices in some cities have soared, and this deserved “close attention,” according to an executive meeting of the State Council, chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao. To maintain a “stable” and “healthy” development of the real estate market, China will increase the supply of smaller houses at medium-to-low price levels, continue to support residential consumption for improved housing and otherwise seek to curb speculation. The country would aim to help 15.4 million more poor households solve their housing problems by 2012, delegates agreed. Meanwhile, more efforts would be made during the next three to five years to improve living conditions for residents living in shabby houses in some cities. About 10 million households are still living in shanty towns in some cities across the country. The Central Government would offer financial support to renovate the shanty towns during the next three to five years, but the meeting did not say how much funding would be put in place. Housing prices rose 5.7 percent year-on-year in November to a 16-month high and new construction rocketed almost 200 percent, while sales nearly doubled. Last week, the government reimposed a 5.5 percent tax on sales of homes bought less than five years ago, moving to discourage speculative purchases.(Xinhua)