Wang, who arrived in Shanghai in 2012, must wait another year before her family will be allowed to buy a home in the city, but she knows well what a year's wait in the ever-inflating property market means.

Hu Jun, a property agent in the Bagualing area of Shenzhen's Futian district, said he makes dozens of phone calls every day, but is still unable to find a buyer.

"People are taking a wait-and-see attitude. They are all watching how the market will react to the new policy. The market is tilting toward the buyers' side. As sellers become increasingly anxious, buyers are expected to gain more bargaining power," he said.

New home prices in Beijing increased by 12.9 percent in February from a year ago, and those of previously owned homes jumped by 27.7 percent, according to National Bureau of Statistics data.

The new policies will help rein in home price growth in gateway cities like Shanghai in the short term, but prices might not drop since demand is great, said Zhou Jing, head of the residential division of consultancy JLL Shanghai.

Policymakers should not interfere too much, since price growth in these cities' property markets is mostly propelled by demand rather than speculative forces, Zhou added.

Contact the writers at wang_ying@chinadaily.com.cn and sally@chinadailyhk.com

Wu Yiyao in Shanghai contributed to this story.