THE value of new home purchases in China rose slowly in the first five months, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

The sales of new homes, excluding government-subsidized affordable housing, rose 56.8 percent from a year earlier to 2.19 trillion yuan (US$353 billion) between January and May, the bureau said at the weekend. In the first four months the value grew 65.2 percent annually and jumped 69 percent in the first quarter.

During the period, new home purchases rose 37.6 percent to 351 million square meters, but this was slower than a 41-percent growth in the January-April period.

Investment in housing projects gained 21.6 percent annually to 1.8 trillion yuan in the first five months, the same pace as in the first four months, the bureau said.