Home prices in China continued to rise in June, extending strength for the 13th straight month, but at a slower pace.

The average price of new homes in 100 cities rose 0.77 percent from May to 10,258 yuan (US$1,660) per square meter, the China Index Academy said yesterday. That compared to a 0.81 percent growth in May, a 1 percent rise in April and March's 1.06 percent gain.

The number of cities that registered monthly price rises fell to 71 in June, compared to May's 77. Of those, 26 saw increases of more than 1 percent, 17 fewer than in May.

Changshu in Jiangsu Province led last month's gainers with a 3.64 percent rise. There were price drops in 29 cities, with Zhanjiang in Guangdong Province registering the biggest drop of 1.45 percent.

In the 10 largest cities, the average price of a new home rose 1.01 percent to 17,376 yuan per square meter in June compared to May's 1.05 percent rise.

Guangzhou continued to lead with a 2.74 percent gain, followed by Nanjing, Bejing and Shenzhen, which grew 1.69 percent, 1.59 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively. Shanghai saw its home prices climb 0.58 percent from a month earlier.

"Growing uncertainties of economic growth and concern about a liquidity squeeze encouraged real estate developers to release more of their houses for sale, which as a result, led to the continuously slower pace of home price growth," the academy said. "However, as demand from buyers remains solid and land markets continue to pick up notable strength around the country, home prices in China are still under great pressure to rise further."

A separate report from the academy showed that the country's residential property market continued to recover in the first half of this year, with major developers recording robust sales.

Nine real estate developers managed to secure home sales of more than 30 billion yuan in the first six months, compared to six in the first half of 2012. China Vanke Co, topped the scale in both value and volume.