China’s property sales will slow in the fourth quarter, but prices will remain stable, the housing minister said on Sunday. 

Although the market dropped in September for the first time in over two-and-half years, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Wang Menghui told the media, at a press conference on the sidelines of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), that China's property market is still expected to continue stabilizing in the fourth quarter of this year and seeing a slower growth in transaction volume and stabilizing prices.

The government will not waver in its efforts to achieve the goals of property market regulation and will maintain policy continuity and stability, Wang said. 

The rapid rise of property prices has been contained and the government will keep measures consistent and not loosen control, said Wang, who also added that the market was healthy and stable.

“We will firmly maintain our position that houses are for living in, not for speculation,” he said.

He pledged to move faster to put in a housing system in place that ensures supply through multiple sources, provides housing support through multiple channels, and encourages both housing purchase and renting. 

China’s economy grew by 6.8 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, easing from 6.9 percent in the second quarter. Although some experts believe further slowing is predicted in the coming months, the head of the state planning agency said on Saturday that the economy is still on track to meet the official full-year growth target of around 6.5 percent.