The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority says 15,000 to 20,000 quake-affected people attended an expo on housing options it ran this weekend.
The event was specifically targetted at people living in the red zone, who were able to bring their questions to representatives from banks, building and insurance companies, property developers and community agencies.
The red zone is where land is considered unlikely to be able to be rebuilt on for a considerable period of time.
CERA's chief executive Roger Sutton says the event gave people the opportunity to ask questions about everything from building costs and banking plans to the availability of land.
He says the expo was able to give confidence to many worried and sometimes upset residents.
Mr Sutton says the authority will definitely run more of these functions in the future.
Some residents who attended say it is hard to make plans without knowing exactly how much money they will be offered.
They say, however, they found the expo useful and another step towards recovery.
