Policy easing measures strengthen January sales

China's major real estate developers' sales surged in January thanks to a series of property easing policies by the government, including a relaxation in housing purchase regulations.

Property group China Vanke Co Ltd's sales in January reached 25.59 billion yuan ($3.89 billion), a year-on-year increase of 10.3 percent, while Guangzhou-based developer Evergrande Real Estate Group reported sales of 21.23 billion yuan, a 83 percent increase compared to the same period of 2015.

According to Ouyang Jie, deputy head of Future Land, the outlook for China's real estate market in 2016 is believed to be more optimistic than last year, thanks to the easing policies released by the government earlier this year.