China will continue its city-specific and targeted policies to better meet people's housing demands and stabilize the property market, as well as develop a new development mechanism for the sector, according to officials at the country's annual work conference of the ministry of housing and urban-rural development.

The country will stick to the principle that "housing is for living in, not for speculation," and adapt to the new major changes in the supply-demand relationship in China's real estate market, said Ni Hong, minister of housing and urban-rural development, at the conference held on Thursday and Friday.

Efforts will be made to ensure the delivery of pre-sold homes, deal with risks in property enterprises and address illegal activities in the market, he added.

In addition, China will seek to build a new development mechanism in the sector, according to officials at the meeting. In this regard, the foundational property market system that covers the full cycle of real estate from construction to maintenance will be improved. 

The construction of affordable housing and public infrastructure for both normal and emergency use, as well as the renovation of shanty towns in cities, will be enhanced. Meanwhile, there will be a greater focus on addressing the housing needs of new urban residents, young people and migrant workers.

Officials at the meeting also noted that efforts are needed to advance the upgrading of cities, which include adding elevators and resolving parking difficulties in old residential communities, building more older people-and-children-friendly facilities, and creating barrier-free environments, as well as to deepen supply-side reform and improve the market environment in the construction sector.

Data shows that China renovated 53,000 old residential communities in the first 11 months of this year, benefiting 8.82 million households. Some 32,000 elevators, 746,000 new parking spaces, and 14,000 elderly and child care facilities were added. About 100,000 kilometers of city pipelines were renovated.