BEIJING - Beijing will start construction on or purchase a total of 160,000 low-income housing units in 2012, an official with the Beijing municipal housing authority said Thursday.

The city will also renovate 15 million square meters of housing to add quake-proofing and energy-saving features, said Yang Bin, director of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

Yang also said the city will maintain existing housing curbs until prices have been brought to "reasonable levels."

China's housing transaction slumped after the government implemented new policies in early 2011 to curb speculation, including increased deposit requirements and second-home purchase restrictions.

Beijing started construction on more than 230,000 low-income housing units in 2011.