Guangzhou residents are urged not to make hasty apartments purchases as the city authorities pledged to bring down house price.

Mayor Zhang Guangning, on the sidelines of the National People's Congress in Beijing, admitted that housing price in Guangzhou rose too rapidly in 2006.

"But the figures from the city's housing administration show that price declined 0.7 percent in January year-on-year," Zhang said. "This is a signal that our price-control measures are beginning to work."

Prices in the southern metropolis will be made much lower soon with the government's full efforts, the mayor promised.

Low and medium-income citizens should keep watching the housing price instead of rushing to buy an apartment, Zhang said.

Zhang's promise was welcomed by most netizens although many are not as optimistic as the mayor.

"The mayor should be respected for his courage to make the promise, as housing prices across the country have reached an unreasonally high level," a netizen commented on sina.com, China's most popular portal.

"I hope it does not turn out to be empty talk. If Guangzhou could take the lead in push down housing price, the mayor will be supported all over the country," wrote another netizen.

"It will be great accomplishment if the mayor can knock down the skyrocketing price," a netizen wrote on sina.com.

However, Pan Weiqian, a Guangzhou resident, remained doubtful. She told Chinadaily.com.cn that although it's inspiring news, Zhang didn't spell out any specific plans on how to achieve that goal.

Surging real estate price has long been a hot topic in China's cities. In a recent survey by China Central Television, the excessively expensive apartment price is currently the second biggest barrier to Chinese people's feeling of happiness, following healthcare availability.