The China Securities Journal reported that the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) was compiling a general plan to achieve the divestment, intended to help cool fast-rising real estate prices.
The newspaper, citing an interview with an unidentified SASAC official, said, "In the specific implementation, divestment from commercial real estate will come first."
The official said asset sales could be complicated and gave no specific deadline.
Last month, the SASAC ordered the 78 bigger State companies whose core business is not property to submit plans on how they intend to retreat from the sector.
China Daily reported in March that two state companies won land auctions in Beijing that smashed price records, generating a public outcry.