(Bloomberg) -- China’s home prices rose at the fastest pace in 21 months in June even as the government stepped up a campaign against property speculation.

New-home prices in 70 cities tracked by the government gained 1.1 percent from the previous month, according to Bloomberg calculations based on data from the National Bureau of Statistics released Tuesday. That compared with a 0.8 percent increase in May. It was the fourth straight monthly acceleration.

Price gains are picking up pace even as officials maintain a two-year campaign to cool the housing market and roll out an array of extra tightening measures that have helped send developers’ shares tumbling. In late June, the authorities announced a six-month campaign against property speculation in 30 cities, tightened approvals for loans for shanty-town redevelopments, and looked into further restricting developers’ sales of offshore debt.

“Home prices will still rise this year, while full-year sales will likely be slightly down from last year,” JPMorgan Chase & Co. property analyst Ryan Li said before the data release.

Home prices increased in 63 of the 70 cities in June, compared with 61 in May.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Emma Dong in Shanghai at edong10@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam at sbhaktavatsa@bloomberg.net, Paul Panckhurst, Peter Vercoe

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