New stimulus projects from the government have offset restrictions on the housing market. (File photo/Xinhua)

Fewer Chinese cities saw house price rises in August from July as the country continued efforts to curb property prices and speculation, it was revealed on Tuesday.

In August, 36 cities, down from 50 in July, out of a statistical pool of 70 major cities recorded higher new home prices than a month earlier, according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

Compared with July, new home prices in 20 cities declined in August, up from nine in July, while 14 cities saw their new home prices unchanged, the data showed.

However, on a year-on-year basis, more cities saw rebounds in new home prices last month, with 14 out of the 70 cities witnessing price increases of up to 1.3%. Prices rose in 11 cities in July from one year earlier.

China has tightened its curbs on the property sector since 2010 in an effort to bring rocketing home prices back to a reasonable level. The government has restricted home purchases in several cities while requiring higher down payments and introducing property taxes.

Recent government policies to bolster a slowing economy, including interest rate cuts in June and July, helped boost the pent-up demand for housing and fuel expectations of price rises.