The Shanghai municipal government issued new rules Thursday limiting families to one new apartment purchase, as the nation tries to curb property speculation and soaring prices.

"One family in Shanghai, whether local or immigrant, can only buy one new home, including a second-hand one, for the time being," said a circular released by the municipal government.

The new rule came into effect Thursday. The Chinese capital, Beijing, introduced the same measure on April 30.

Shanghai authorities also ordered banks to suspend loans for third-home buyers and non-local buyers who could not prove they had paid personal income taxes or made social security contributions in the city for at least one year, the circular said.

Local authorities would also start preparing for the introduction of a property tax, it said, without providing further details.

A land-appreciation tax of 5 percent on the selling price would also be imposed on property developers if they sold residential buildings at an average price that was more than twice the average price of the previous year in the same area.

Shanghai's new rules follow a series of measures announced by the Chinese central government in late September to check soaring property prices.

The measures included the suspension of bank loans for third-home purchases in the near future and an adjustment in down payments for all home buyers.

All home buyers will have to pay a down payment of at least 30 percent of the purchase price, according to the new rules.

Previously, according to rules issued on April 17, only first-time buyers purchasing an apartment covering more than 90-square-meters had to pay a 30 percent down payment.

On the same day, sources within several departments of the central government told Xinhua that property tax pilot programs will be stepped up and then extended across the entire country.