A banker says the total cost of damage from the Canterbury earthquake will be nearly a billion dollar higher than Government estimates.

The Earthquake Commission's stage two report shows thousands of homes need to be demolished or repaired following September's Canterbury Earthquake.

The EQC has paid out over $145m to residents affected by the Canterbury quake two months ago, but only a small proportion of the claims have been assessed.

Some Christchurch residents don't know when their land will be fixed or how they'll live meantime.

Fletcher Construction will run the Earthquake Commission's (EQC) project management office to oversee the rebuild after the Canterbury earthquake, a contract worth around $1 billion.

Fletcher Building, expects the residential property market to pick up next year when rebuilding begins in Canterbury and the government's response to 'leaky homes' comes into effect.

A range of measures has been announced today by the Government to help Cantabrians rebuild their homes after the September 4 earthquake.

Liquefaction was a huge problem, and many hard-hit Bexley residents believe that was because their homes were built on what was once a swamp.

Two weeks after the Canterbury earthquake nearly 3000 homes cannot be lived in and about the same number are not weatherproof.