BEIJING — China’s top property market watchdog has urged local governments to stick to real estate market management goals and not loosen regulatory measures.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development arranged talks on May 9 with senior government officials from Chengdu and Taiyuan cities on property market regulation.

Official data showed that both cities saw the prices of new and second-hand houses rise year-on-year in March.

The ministry reiterated that “houses are for living in, not for speculation” and urged them to take specific measures to ensure stable and healthy development of the local property market.

Local governments have been asked to increase housing supply for certain regions, build more middle-and-small-size houses and strengthen capital management to reduce leverage.

Last month, the ministry met with senior government officials of 10 cities, including Xi’an and Haikou, on real estate market management.