Experts say China's real estate sector has been one of the major contributors of GDP growth in the past 30 years. But the economy's past reliance on the sector for growth has created its own problems. Our reporter Yang Chengxi explains how the sector has evolved in the past three decades.

If you look back on China's home sales over the past 30 years, you can clearly see the sheer speed of the country's urbanization. But throughout those three decades, there was always a challenge between the sector's growth, and regulators' drive to prevent the market from over-heating.

In 1998, the government cancelled the state allocation of homes to residents, a remnant of China's planned economy. Demand for home purchases skyrocketed as a result. In 2001, Beijing home prices rose 97 percent in just three months. The government reacted by tightening credit, and introduced the concept of a higher mortgage for second homes. It was during that time, that the real estate sector became one of the major pillars of the Chinese economy.

In 2003, China endured a SARS virus outbreak that battered the economy. The government decided to promote investment by relaxing rules on real estate. Growth was lifted back up, but the side effect? Home prices continued to soar.

Similar scenarios happened during the 2008 global financial crisis. The Chinese government's stimulus plan fueled a fresh round of price hikes and home construction. It was followed by yet another round of credit tightening. As sales slowed, the nation was faced with a stockpile of new empty homes by 2015. Regulators rolled out a brief stimulus to clear out the stock, and since 2017 have resumed tight control on the market's expansion to this day.

So what are the takeaways? With high home prices continuing in China's major cities, experts say the government faces the daunting challenge of ensuring that more families have access to affordable homes. Investment in the sector has been a major growth driver, but the government needs to prevent speculators from profiteering because that's how bubbles are formed. Yang Chengxi, CGTN, Shanghai.