Property prices in China's major cities saw a tenth consecutive monthly increase in March, and the growth rate is accelerating, data from a real estate research institute showed on Monday.

According to the China Index Academy, a Beijing-based real estate research institute, the average price of new homes in 100 monitored cities was 9,998 yuan ($1,604) per square meter during March, up 1.06 percent month-on-month.

The month-on-month growth rate was up 0.83 percentage points from the previous month.

Meanwhile, a total of 84 cities saw price increases on a monthly basis, with 10 more reporting price hikes in March than in the previous month, while the number of cities experiencing price drops fell by 10 from February.

On an annual basis, the growth was 3.9 percent last month, compared with a 2.48 percent year-on-year increase in February. This was the fourth time that the 100 cities saw price increases on an annual basis, with the growth rate further accelerating.

Average home prices in key cities?- including Beijing and Shanghai - stood at 16,803 yuan per sq m, up 1.25 percent month-on-month and up 6.05 percent year-on-year. The figures indicate an accelerating price growth rate.