BEIJING: China’s new home prices rose for the fifth straight month in May, but at a slower pace, according to official data on Thursday, as the government looks to shore up the crisis-hit property sector.

New home prices in May rose 0.1% month-on-month, slower than a 0.4% gain in March, according to Reuters calculations based on National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data.

Prices rose for the first time since April 2022 in annual terms, up 0.1% from a 0.2% drop in April.

China’s property shares surge as investors bet on stimulus hopes

Beijing’s broad-based stimulus measures to prop up the embattled property market since late last year had boosted sentiment in the wake of the abrupt end of COVID-19 curbs in December.

But the sector is expected to grapple with “persistent weakness” for years, Goldman Sachs analysts said this week, adding its problems would continue to drag on economic growth.