BEIJING, June 16 (Xinhua) -- China's home prices in 70 large and medium-sized cities continued the downward trend in May, though the pace of decline slowed, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Monday.

"In May, home prices in 70 major cities continued to fall on a yearly basis, but the pace of decline further eased," said NBS statistician Wang Zhonghua.

New home prices in first-tier cities decreased by 1.7 percent year on year, narrowing by 0.4 percentage points compared to the previous month, according to the NBS data. Among these cities, Shanghai saw an increase of 5.9 percent, while Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen experienced declines of 4.3 percent, 5.8 percent, and 2.6 percent, respectively.

In second- and third-tier cities, new home prices fell by 3.5 percent and 4.9 percent year on year, with drops narrowing by 0.4 and 0.5 percentage points, respectively.

In May, prices of second-hand homes in first-tier cities declined by 2.7 percent year on year, a reduction of 0.5 percentage points from the previous month, according to the NBS. Specifically, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen saw declines of 0.7 percent, 0.1 percent, 6.6 percent, and 3.2 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, second- and third-tier cities reported year-on-year decreases in prices of second-hand homes of 6.1 percent and 6.9 percent, with reductions narrowing by 0.4 and 0.5 percentage points, respectively.

NBS data also showed that home prices in 70 large and medium-sized cities dipped in May on a month-on-month basis. Enditem