According to the National Bureau of Statistics, property prices in the country's 70 major cities rose by 5.7 percent year-on-year in November. But in some key cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, they have jumped by more than 50 percent this year, fueling concerns that a property bubble is building up.

China is not likely to take "heavy-handed policy measures" next year because "any sharp correction in the property market may hamper overall economic growth", Fitch Ratings said in a report yesterday.

"However, there may be some fine-tuning measures from the middle of next year when economic conditions are likely to have reached a point of greater stabilization," said Michael Wu, director of the agency's Asia Pacific corporates team.

The policy objective of the central government is to deflate potential bubbles and send early warning signals to investors and property developers, he added.

Fitch notes that without substantial tightening policy measures, market sentiment should be relatively stable, and that property prices are likely to move within a tight range. However, a strong performance in sales and profit margins is unlikely to recur in 2010.