BEIJING, July 18 -- China's property sector continued to cool in June, with new home prices in 55 of 70 major cities reporting month-on-month drops, the National Bureau of Statistics said Friday.

New home prices in 55 of a sample of 70 major cities showed month-on-month drops in June, contrasted with 35 in May, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement.

Only eight cities saw month-on-month gains, down from 15 in May.

The average home price in the 70 cities slipped 0.47 percent from the previous month, more than the 0.15-percent fall in May, according to the NBS data.

However, on a year-on-year basis, home prices in most cities are higher than a year ago, with only Wenzhou City seeing price drop in June.