BEIJING, April 16 (Reuters) - New home prices in China rose at a faster pace in March, data showed on Friday, even as authorities have taken measures to further clamp down on property speculation. Average new home prices in 70 major cities grew 0.5% in March from a month earlier, quickening from a 0.4% gain in February, according to Reuters calculations based on data released by the National Bureau of Statistics. On a year-on-year basis, new home prices rose 4.6%, compared with 4.3% growth in February. 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 secondary market financing in some cities. (Reporting by Liangping Gao, Lusha Zhang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa)