China's home prices rose 6.9 per cent in May, accelerating from the previous month's 6.2 per cent gain, an official survey says, boosted by price increases in second-tier cities which are fuelling overheating concerns.

Compared with a month earlier, home prices rose 0.9 per cent, slowing from April’s 1.2 per cent, according to Reuters calculations from data issued by the National Bureau of Statistics.

The southern city of Shenzhen was again the top performer, with home prices rising 53.2 per cent from a year ago. The coastal city of Xiamen surpassed the top-tier cities and had the second highest price rise of 28 per cent. Shanghai prices rose 27.7 per cent.