The five-month crackdown will begin by targetting land hoarding and price speculation this month, said Liao Yonglin, a senior official at the Ministry of Land and Resources, according to Xinhua news agency.

China's real estate prices rose 10.7 percent on year last month, the fastest pace in nearly two years, fuelling concerns that an asset bubble is building that could eventually burst and hurt the wider economy.

High housing prices have also become a heated social issue, especially among young and middle-aged wage earners, who have complained of difficulties in buying a home.

Investigators will look for irregularities in local government land transfers and failure by real estate companies to develop their holdings in accordance with transfer approvals, the report said.

On Wednesday, the ministry also announced rules that require local governments to allot at least 70 percent of their total housing land supply for low-cost housing or the renovation of shanty towns.

The regulations also require developers to pay for land transfers within one year while also curbing them from hoarding space to force prices up.

Authorities Thursday banned the Pacific Century Group, controlled by Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li, from trading land in Beijing after a company affiliate failed to fulfill contract obligations and instead allowed land to sit idle.

In order to cool the red-hot market, Beijing has already restricted lending, raised downpayments for buyers of second homes and increased interest rates on mortgage loans.

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