Want to ease prices, build more houses...get to the point where supply equals or exceeds demand.  Then you'll see prices come down.  Otherwise, how are you going to control demand....

Until then, slap on a foreign buyer tax, a vacant house tax, an ugly house tax, a nice looking house tax, implement rent control....none of which will make any difference (and evidence is there to prove it - see Vancouver, see rent control in Ontario...).  

Politicians who created this situation will still wonder why prices haven't come down in a year from now.