HOME prices in China rose at a slower pace in May although it was the 12th straight monthly increase.
The average price of new residential properties across 100 major Chinese cities climbed 0.81 percent from April to 10,180 yuan (US$1,642) per square meter last month, the China Index Academy said today. That compared to a 1 percent gain in April and a 1.06 percent increase in March.
Forty-three of the 77 cities that posted gains saw increases of more than 1 percent. In April, 76 cities recorded month-on-month growth, with 40 registering a rise above 1 percent.
Xiamen in Fujian Province led last month's gainers with a 3.55 percent rise.
Twenty-two cities recorded price drops with Xi'an suffering the biggest decrease of 1.74 percent. Home prices in Luoyang, Henan Province, remained flat.
"An ever-growing prudent sentiment among both real estate developers and home buyers led to new home transactions continuing to drop in many cities across the country in May, thus home prices climbed at a slower pace," the academy said. "However, expectations for further home price growth remains strong as land markets gradually gained strength in major cities including Beijing and Shanghai, home supply in some key cities remained tight and expectations of the government loosening monetary policy remained unchanged."
In the country's 10 largest cities, the average price for a new home rose 1.05 percent to 17,202 yuan per square meter in May, decelerating from April's 1.31 percent rise.
Guangzhou led with a 2.52 percent gain, followed by Chengdu's 2.1 percent. In Beijing and Shanghai, home prices rose 1.97 percent and 0.23 percent, respectively.
Shanghai Uwin Real Estate Information Services Co said in a report that new home sales in the city edged up 2.2 percent last month to more than 920,000 square meters. It was the second consecutive month the figure fell below the average volume of 957,000 square meters registered over the past 12 months.