China＇s home prices see slower growth in May

Home prices in major Chinese cities saw slower growth last month, according to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released Monday.

All 15 major cities witnessed a slight drop in housing price growth in May, the report showed. 

Month-on-month, the picture was less rosy. In Beijing, Shanghai and Fuzhou, new residential house prices remained stable. But in Nanjing, Hangzhou, Hefei, Zhengzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu, housing prices declined compared to April.

New residential and second-hand house prices in first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have now seen slower increases for eight months in a row, said the NBS.

Of 70 large and medium-sized cities surveyed, 35 cities witnessed a month-on-month price decline or a slower price uptick in May, compared with 31 in April. A total 29 cities witnessed a slower price rise year-on-year in May, said the NBS.

Since October last year, the Chinese government has implemented a slew of measures to cool fast growth in housing prices, including restrictions on home purchases and increased minimum down-payment requirements.