BEIJING -- China will maintain a consistent and stable policy on real estate finance and avoid using the property sector to generate a short-term stimulus to the economy, according to a central bank report.

The country will continue to stick to the principle that "houses are for living in, not speculation," said the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, in the report on the country's regional financial operation in 2019.

Home prices across the country remained generally stable in 2019. Price indices of new and previously owned houses in first-tier cities rose slightly last year, with their year-on-year monthly expansion peaking at 4.9 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the growth pace of price indices for new and resold homes in second- and third-tier cities witnessed a marked decrease in 2019, the report said.

In its efforts to implement a long-term mechanism for real estate finance, the PBOC stressed the importance of improving the system of government housing support and maintaining the steady and sound development of the property market in the country.

While curbing housing speculation, China will also implement city-specific policies in the sector, according to this year's government work report.