BEIJING -- China's housing market continued to pick up in July, with new home prices in an increasing number of surveyed cities registering month-on-month rises.

Of 70 large and medium-sized cities surveyed in July, new home prices climbed in 31, up from the 27 in the previous month, while 29 reporting month-on-month price declines, down from June's 34, according to data released on Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics.