When delegates meet next month in Beijing for the annual gathering of China's top legislative body, we hope they will come up with concrete policy initiatives to bring the housing market back onto a normal track.

The anxiety brought by soaring apartment prices has been haunting most Chinese. It concerns us especially when the younger generation shares the same unease.

Housing is atop the list, with over two-thirds of the votes so far, in a month-long ongoing online poll by the Xinhua News Agency of the top daily concerns that people would like to raise with Premier Wen Jiabao.

At the moment, nobody seems able to resist involvement in the crazy real estate market, either out of lust or out of fear. It is estimated that for every 15 yuan (US$2.20) Chinese spent in 2009, 6 yuan went into property-related consumption.

Since housing reform started in 1998, when the property market was commercialized, housing has gradually become a driving force of the country's economy. The property market and related commercial chain account for 20 percent of the GDP, churning out millions of jobs for everyone from construction workers to sales agents.

At the individual level, holding onto a piece of property and trying to make a fortune from it dominates life. It is a measure of one's success, impacts people's marriages – bachelors without an apartment are deemed hopelessly disadvantaged in finding a partner – and influences our values.

When property prices rise by double digits in a single month, it is clear many have chosen to ignore economic fundamentals. Like other commodities, housing prices are subject to the equilibrium of supply and demand.

But the housing market in China has been deified to such a degree that few want to face the truth. Skyrocketing housing prices are regarded as a symbol of prosperity and wealth.

Worrying too much about GDP growth and the social repercussions of a down housing market may have restricted government from intervening more strongly in the property market with administrative measures. Worse, many State-owned enterprises have been crowned "land kings" for their record-breaking bidding in commercial land auctions.

When the property market sucks up resources, taking bank funds that should be invested in more diversified industries, the country risks sacrificing stable long-term development for temporary growth. This will undermine China's economic restructuring, with consequences that will be felt globally.

How many talented people will be lost when bright youth abandon their dreams and end up toiling instead as house slaves?

If you can double your wealth quickly by speculating on property, any innovative business idea pales in comparison. How far a country can go when everybody is so completely focused on housing?

We are scratching our heads over the fast rising price of real estate. It seems to have become the single most important issue affecting our everyday life.

Delegates to the annual National People's Congress have a serious job ahead of them: They must convey the public's anxiety over housing, and come up with effective bills to bring the market back under control.