BEIJING - Loans to the real estate sector grew fast as the property sector continued to recover, data from the central bank showed Thursday.

By the end of June, financial institutions in China had lent 23.94 trillion yuan ($3.6 trillion) to the property sector, up 24 percent year on year, according to a report from the People's Bank of China.

Outstanding loans for real estate development amounted 5.41 trillion yuan at the end of June, up 10.9 percent year on year, while loans for individual purchases jumped 30.9 percent to 16.55 trillion yuan.

The data came as the housing market continued to pick up on the back of supportive policies, which included interest rate cuts and lower deposit requirements.

Of 70 large and medium-sized cities surveyed in June, 55 saw new home prices climb month on month, down from 60 the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday.

New-home prices soared 47.4 percent year on year in the southern city of Shenzhen, the sharpest increase in June among all the major cities.

Prices in the top-tier cities of Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou rose 33.7 percent, 22.3 percent, and 19.4 percent year on year, respectively.