BEIJING - CHINA said on Tuesday that real-estate prices remained too high for many Chinese, vowing to provide cheap housing for millions of low-income families.

'We will get the job done on... fund raising and land supply to make sure that the target of boosting low-price housing can be realised,' vice housing minister Qi Ji said at a press conference.

In a statement prior to the briefing, the government said housing prices remained too high for a large number of Chinese.

'House prices have fallen somewhat... but are still not affordable for ordinary people,' it said.

'The key to revitalising the real estate market is to set reasonable prices.' Beijing announced in December a real-estate stimulus package that will help find housing for 7.5 million low-income urban families and 2.4 million households in poor areas over the next three years.

As part of the package, the government this year will raise subsidies to the central and western provinces to help them build more low-price houses, said Ou Hong, a senior official at the National Development and Reform Commission.

It will also improve credit support to developers building low-price housing, while urging local governments to increase investment, he said.

China's housing market is losing steam with demand drying up amid the global financial crisis and slumps in the domestic stock market.

Urban property prices rose 0.2 per cent year on year in November, lower than the 1.6 per cent rise in October and the slowest growth in more than three years, according to official figures. -- AFP