Our biggest building company is off to London as it searches for new staff to help keep up with a massive boom in construction work.

A tightening labour market and a slight lift in pricing intentions are among the early signs that inflation may finally be starting to edge up.

New Zealand firms turned optimistic about the state of the economy in the June quarter.

China Construction is massive and now it's here - having just won the contract to build a huge new hotel on Auckland's waterfront.

Business optimism jumps on the back of construction and tourism industries.

The value of all residential buildings based on those consents is $11.4 billion.

The half-hectare $60 million Red Stag Timber "mega-mill" is almost as big as a rugby field and the materials and construction techniques used were unusual.

Half the floor of one of New Zealand's biggest new supermarkets at a $40 million Tauranga scheme has been torn up and re-laid, the store's owner says.

Some of the planned projects were badly located, too expensive or not what the market wanted.

Local government's infrastructure-building monopoly could be removed and Chinese contractors could take the lead.

A top Auckland Council official has questioned whether a new Auckland urban development authority is needed.

New homes and sections created under the Auckland Housing Accord have dropped below target as the building industry struggles to find extra labour.

COMMENT: So why are the houses that we so desperately need not being built? In my view, the supply of land is not the main problem.

The prospect of a powerful new Auckland urban development authority has been welcomed by a real estate industry leader.

John Key is allowing companies - including from China - to fund and build some of Auckland's infrastructure.

Prime Minister John Key has floated the idea of a powerful new agency to oversee major building projects.

New Zealand's economy has grown at a faster pace than expected in the first quarter of 2016.

Kiwirail is accused of breaching a collective agreement with the Rail and Maritime Union.

The owners of apartments in a multi-storey leaky block have launched a $60 million claim against the council and other bodies.

A quarter of the Waterview Connection twin tunnels are fitted with lights and a system to drop sheets of water to extinguish fires almost immediately.

A dispute between a Tauranga builder and the Ministry of Education over school weathertightness issues tipped the builder into liquidation, an official report says.

A Whangarei steel company is thrilled at winning a Convention Centre steel contract, which has already started providing new jobs for Northlanders, with more on the way.

At least three people have lost more than $25,000 in a "highly sophisticated" scam targeting the building industry.

The Herald can reveal detailed plans for "Customs Residential" - a 50-storey building in the heart of the CBD.

COMMENT: Auckland feels like a boom town. Its shortage of houses, hotels, roads, schoolrooms and tradies dominates the conversations.

NZbuilding activity grew for a fifth quarter in the March period as Auckland dominated construction for both residential and commercial construction.

New Zealand firms grew more confident about the state of the local economy for the third month in a row, with gains most evident in construction.

New Zealand residential building consents climbed 6.6 percent in April as new housing intentions climbed at their fastest monthly pace in eight years.