File photo shows residences in Nanning City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Zhang Ailin)

House prices in China's major cities largely remained stable in the past months amid the country's tightening control of the real estate market, with officials reiterating that "houses are for living in, not for speculation."

BEIJING, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's top four real estate developers saw their sales exceed 550 billion yuan (about 78.84 billion U.S. dollars) as of the end of this year, the China Securities Journal reported by citing an industry report.

The four developers' sales have been expanding at a slower pace compared with the same period in 2018, according to China Real Estate Information Corp., an online industrial information provider.

Chinese property developer Evergrande saw its sales reach 608 billion yuan, exceeding this year's target of 600 billion yuan as price cuts in September and October boosted sales.

House prices in China's major cities largely remained stable in the past months amid the country's tightening control of the real estate market, with officials reiterating that "houses are for living in, not for speculation."

China's investment in property development grew 10.3 percent year on year in the first 10 months of 2019 to 10.96 trillion yuan, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. ■