For existing homes, 57 cities reported month-on-month price increases in August and nine reported lower prices, compared with 51 and 12 in July.
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The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is scheduled to announce August figures for housing prices in 70 large and medium-sized Chinese cities on Monday.
First-tier cities such as Shenzhen and Shanghai have tightened downpayment requirements for second homes and raised the eligibility bar for non-residents to purchase properties.
China has been trying to tamper down the sizzling property market.
Housing authorities from the eastern city of Hangzhou announced on Sunday that it will begin to restrict home purchases as of September 19.
Despite signs of a broadening recovery, many small cities still have a large glut of unsold homes. Prices climbed a record 4.4 percent in Shanghai, bringing the year-on-year gain to 31 percent.
Looking ahead at the price trend in the fourth quarter, 23.1 percent expected prices to rise, while 52.2 percent expected them to be unchanged. Zhengzhou, the provincial capital of central Henan province, led gains with a 5.5 percent increase, up from a 2 percent gain in July.
The city of Jinzhou in northeastern Liaoning Province saw the steepest price decline of 3.8 percent over a year earlier, flat with July.
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China’s top leaders, after a Politburo meeting led by President Xi Jinping, pledged in July to curb asset bubbles amid a renewed focus on financial stability.
