Property prices in 70 major Chinese cities rose 5.3 percent year-on-year in August, compared with 7.0 percent in July, the National Development and Reform Commission said.

In a statement posted on its website, the commission said prices of new residential property rose 6.2 percent year-on-year in August, down 1.7 percentage points compared to July's growth.

Cities where property price growth exceeded 10 percent year-on-year last month included Haikou, Yinchuan and Beijing with growth rates of 16.5 percent, 12.4 percent and 11.7 percent, respectively.

Prices of homes for resale rose 3.9 percent year-on-year in August, 2.1 percentage points below the July rate.

Non-residential property prices grew 4.0 percent last month, down 0.9 percentage points from July.