China's housing market remains stable in May with mild price increase

China continued to see a generally stable housing market in May, with home prices in 70 major cities showing mild month-on-month increases, official data showed Monday.

New home prices in four first-tier cities -- Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou -- rose by 0.7 percent month on month in May, 0.5 percentage points higher from one month earlier, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

The country's second-tier cities saw a month-on-month increase of 0.6 percent in new home prices, up 0.1 percentage points from the previous month, while third-tier cities witnessed a month-on-month rise of 0.7 percent in new home prices, compared with a 0.6-percent increase reported in April.