BEIJING -- China started building 5.8 million low-income housing units in the first seven months of this year, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said Friday.

Construction on 3.6 million affordable homes has been basically completed in the period, the ministry said in a brief statement on its website.

The government vowed to start construction on more than 7 million low-income housing units this year, part of its five-year plan to build 36 million such units by 2015.

The government has stepped up its efforts in the construction of affordable housing in recent years, aiming to cool the country's runaway property prices.

In June, 25 out of a statistical pool of 70 major cities recorded higher new home prices than in the previous month, while 21 cities saw drops in new home prices, according to official data.