BEIJING: China will improve home sales in a “forceful” and “orderly” way, said Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong on Saturday, as weak demand in the country’s beleaguered residential property market persists.

The property sector has lurched from one crisis to another since 2021 after a regulatory crackdown on high leverage among developers triggered a liquidity crisis among real estate firms and crushed home-buying sentiment.

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China will quicken the development of “a new model” for the sector, focusing on building more affordable housing and meeting demand for homes, Premier Li Qiang said earlier this week.

China will insist on “housing is for living in, not for speculation” when developing the new development model for the sector, Ni said at a news conference on Saturday on the sidelines of the annual meeting of parliament, reiterating an official line against property speculation.