BEIJING, May 17 (Reuters) - New home prices in China rose at a faster pace in April, data showed on Monday, despite heightened government efforts to clamp down on property speculation.

Average new home prices in 70 major cities grew 0.6% in April from a month earlier, quickening from a 0.5% gain in March, according to Reuters calculations based on data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

On a year-on-year basis, new home prices rose 4.8%, compared with 4.6% growth in March.

Authorities have rolled out new measures to further rein in fast-rising home prices since the beginning of this year, ranging from greater scrutiny on the illegal flows of funds to fixed price references for resale housing market financing in some cities. (Reporting by Lusha Zhang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Sam Holmes and Christopher Cushing)