Home-price growth in China remained largely stable in May amid Chinese authorities’ efforts to cool the market and tackle a buildup in developers’ debt.

Average new home prices rose 4.47% in May from a year earlier, after a 4.45% increase in April, the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday.

New home prices rose in 62 of 70 cities in May from a year earlier, down from 63 cities in April.

On a month-over-month basis, average new home prices rose 0.51% last month, slightly higher than the 0.48% increase in April.

Prices of new homes rose in 62 of 70 cities in May from the previous month, the same as April.

The price increase has basically remained stable, said Sheng Guoqing, chief statistician of the statistics bureau’s urban division.

Among the country’s four first-tier cities, home prices continued to grow at a faster pace. Home prices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou rose from a month earlier by 1.1%, 0.7% and 0.9%, respectively. Meanwhile, Shenzhen, a hotbed of speculative real estate deals, saw average home prices dropping 0.1% last month thanks to the local government’s measures.
Source: Dow Jones