Residents of Christchurch's eastern suburbs have mixed feelings about the announcement their orange-zoned homes have finally been re-classified by the government.
Of 255 orange zone properties in Burwood, Avonside, Dallington and Wainoni, 213 have been zoned red, meaning they have been condemned, Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee said on Friday.
The remaining 42 properties, in Wainoni, are zoned green, meaning their owners can now repair or rebuild.
Avonside Residents' Society co-chairman Paul Watson says there has been a mixed reaction to the announcement.
"It's left a number of residents devastated because they wanted it to go from orange to green so they could live in the communities they've been part of for decades, and others are relieved and delighted, really, because they've had enough," Mr Watson told NZ Newswire.
"There's a whole lot of emotions rolling around our area at the moment."
Mr Watson was hoping to remain on his property, which is now red-zoned.
"When you've lived in the house for 22 years and your family's grown up there, you've got your community around you, neighbours, it's a pretty hard thing to absorb."
The residents are now awaiting government offers to buy their properties.
Mr Brownlee says the complex nature of the damage, which varies from street to street, meant the decisions had been challenging.
"The judgment calls being made on remaining properties are finer and more complex than previous decisions, which is why they haven't been announced sooner," he said.
More than 10,000 properties on flat land had originally been zoned orange and the reclassification means just 653 still need to be rezoned.
Most were in Southshore and Mr Brownlee expects a decision on their future shortly.
There are also 2100 white-zoned residential properties in the Port Hills which need to be assessed by geotechnical experts.
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