China Home Prices Continued to Fall in May

China's home prices continued their downward spiral in May, deepening a property crisis that remains a significant drag on domestic demand.

Home prices in the country's 70 biggest cities fell 0.2% in May compared with a 0.19% drop in April, according to calculations by The Wall Street Journal based on National Bureau of Statistics data released Tuesday.

Of the 70 cities, 52 reported a month-over-month decline, up from 49 in April.

Compared with a year earlier, home prices fell 3.6% in May, narrowing slightly from April's 3.7% drop. Sixty-seven cities reported year-over-year price declines, compared with 65 in April.

In the first five months of the year, home prices in the 70 major cities were down 3.5% from the same period a year earlier.