China's home prices continue to rise in August

BEIJING -- 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 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.