(Bloomberg) -- China’s home prices rose at the fastest pace in 22 months in July, underscoring the risk of bubbles if the government does more to stimulate a slowing economy.

New-home prices in 70 cities tracked by the government gained 1.2 percent from the previous month, according to Bloomberg calculations based on data from the National Bureau of Statistics released Wednesday. That compared with a 1.1 percent increase in June. It was the fifth straight monthly acceleration.

Weakening economic momentum highlighted in data on Tuesday means a tougher task for officials seeking to control home prices without tanking an industry that’s a key driver of growth. The government is more than two years into a campaign of housing curbs, with Shenzhen announcing tougher measures last month.

“The pent-up demand is too strong to be fully curbed,” Yang Kewei, Shanghai-based research director at China Real Estate Information Corp., said before the release. “It’s entirely possible that later this year prices may surge again.”

New-home values, excluding government-subsidized housing, increased in 65 cities in July, compared with 63 in June.

Signs are mixed for the property industry: unsold land in government auctions could be an early warning sign of a slowdown, but that contrasts with home sales surging during the traditionally slow month of July.

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

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Katrina Nicholas at knicholas2@bloomberg.net, Paul Panckhurst, Peter Vercoe

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.