China's home prices dropped for the eighth consecutive month in May but the pace of decline slowed, triggering concerns over a short-term rebound in prices.
In May, of the 70 large and medium-sized cities monitored by the bureau, 43 cities' sale prices declined, there was no change in 21, and six saw an increase.
By comparison, in April, the same number of cities saw a decline, there was no change in 24 and three saw an increase, which means that three more cities were experiencing price growth and fewer cities were able to maintain price stability.
Average new home prices fell 0.1 percent in May from a month earlier, narrowing from April's fall of 0.3 percent, according to Reuters calculations based on home price data in 70 cities published by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday.
Only 40 cities saw new home prices fall in May from April, as compared with 43 in April, 46 in March and 52 - the most so far - in December.
The set of year-on-year data told a different story, showing the average new home prices dropped 1.5 percent in May. That marked the third straight month of decline, and compared with April's fall of 1.2 percent and March's dip of 0.7 percent.
The eastern city of Wenzhou led declines with a 14 percent slump in values from a year earlier, while Beijing and Shanghai recorded losses of as much as 1.6 percent, according to data released by the statistics bureau today.
