BEIJING — Home prices in China rose for a fourth consecutive month in August, offering hope that the ailing property sector is becoming less of a drag on the slowing economy.

Average new home prices inched up 0.3 percent in August from the previous month, according to Reuters calculations based on data released by the National Statistics Bureau on Friday, the same pace as in July.

Price gains were recorded in 35 of the 70 cities the bureau surveyed, up from 31 in the previous month.

The property sector accounts for 15 percent of China’s gross domestic product, so even modest signs of improvement would relieve some pressure on the economy, which is expected to expand at its slowest pace in a quarter of a century this year.