China's home prices continue to rise in August

Prices of both new and existing homes continued to rise in most Chinese cities in August, according to official data released on Wednesday.

Of a statistical pool of 70 major Chinese cities, 66 saw a month-on-month rise in new home prices, up from 62 in July, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced.

According to the bureau, 58 cities reported month-on-month price gains in existing and second-hand homes in August, compared to 57 in July.

On a year-on-year basis, new home prices rose in 69 cities last month, the same as the July figure, while 68 reported higher year-on-year prices for existing homes in August, up from 67.

Growth rates in first-tier cities were significantly higher compared to second- and third-tier cities. New home prices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen rose by 18 to 20 percent year on year while those in 35 third-tier cities rose by around 6 percent on average, according to the data.

The average month-on-month growth rate of new home prices narrowed to 0.8 percent in August from 1.7 percent in March, the data showed.

The data covers the nation's large and medium-sized cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, provincial capitals, and other cities.