Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, has given Christchurch red zone homeowners another three months to decide which settlement they will take.
Insured property owners can either sell both their house and land to the Government at the 2007 valuation or sell just the land and claim through private insurance for their house
Mr Brownlee says the first homeowners received their formal offers in August and had until the end of this month to choose a settlement option.
And he says, of about 7000 red zone homeowners, 4200 have already done so.
But he says no one could have anticipated the significant impact of subsequent earthquakes.
And he says the three-month extension will give those who haven't yet decided more time to resolve insurance matters.
The final settlement date for all red zone homeowners is April next year.
