A well-targeted property tax can become the government's best weapon in the battle to curb rising housing prices

A fresh rise in domestic housing prices is testing the tolerance of the government and public, and highlights the need to expedite a new round of fiercer regulations to rein in the intractable housing market.

According to the data from the China Index Academy, the average price of new homes in China's 100 major cities rose to 9,812 yuan ($1,577) per square meter in January, an increase of 1 percent from December and the eighth consecutive increase month-on-month. It is also 1.2 percent higher than a year earlier.