'Measures to cool property already working'

Beijing - The skyrocketing prices of property could harm the financial security and social stability of the nation, a senior housing official warned on Friday.

Qi Ji, vice-minister of housing and urban-rural development, made his remarks in response to claims made by his colleague, Chen Huai, that it will take 30 years for China to make homes affordable for its people.

"Without intervention, rapid increases in property prices in some cities could spread to more regions," he said in support of the central government's tough measures dubbed by many as the strictest ever to cool the sizzling property market.