国际英语新闻：Pre-sales targeted in latest rule to curb China's property market

Also Tuesday, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) said insurers were barred from investing in the real estate market before detailed rules governing such investments were issued.

The CIRC said the specific rules would be introduced at "proper" time.

The government approved insurers to invest in real estate sector in line with the amended Insurance Law of 2009. However, the detailed implementation measures have yet to be released.

The People's Bank of China, the central bank, said on its website that financial institutions lent 845.7 billion yuan (123.9 billion U.S. dollars) in new loans for property in the first quarter.

By the end of March, the total outstanding loans on the property market rose 44.3 percent from a year ago. Outstanding loans to property developers rose 31.1 percent and to home purchasers 53.4 percent, the central bank said.