East China's Suzhou City unveiled a policy package on Thursday to curb the city's surging house prices, by raising deposits for second homes among other tools.

The residential land bidding deposit was raised from the current 20 percent to at least 30 percent of the starting price, while the down payment proportion of land-transfer fees were hiked from 50 percent to 60 percent or above, according to a new regulation released by the government of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.

The deadline for full land transfer fees was adjusted to "within three months."

Deposits on second homes, if the mortgage on the first home is still outstanding, will be increased from 40 percent to 50 percent in all of downtown Suzhou except Wujiang District, according to the 15-point rule.

Non-permanent residents must now provide evidence of personal income tax or social insurance payments in downtown Suzhou.

The new policy, which is effective Friday, aims to curb the city's surging housing prices.

Property prices in some of China's second-tier cities, including Suzhou and Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu, have increased substantially this year.

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