Experts considered the new rules a more stringent "upgraded version" of the national housing monitoring regulations.

"The supply is largely short of demand in Beijing. The new limits on home purchases, especially for non-Beijing residents, are the strictest in China," said Gu Yunchang, vice president of China Real Estate Association.

The rules would definitely limit investment purchases, but would not immediately affect housing prices, said Wang Xiaoguang, chief director of the Macroeconomic Division of the Institute of Economic Research, under the National Development and Reform Commission.

Beijing, which announced regulations to allow each family to buy only one extra home in April 2010, is among almost 30 cities across China that have announced home purchase limits.

"Beijing's rules can be a reference for other cities in China. Other local governments will launch new rules," said Lou Liping, director of the housing policy and market regulation committee of the Chinese Society for Urban Studies.

Investment in housing focused on second and third-tier cities after Beijing's home purchase limit rules in 2010, but the new limits could soon spread to other cities across China, said Lin Lei, marketing director of Century 21 China Real Estate.