New Zealand's in the grip of a building boom, as revealed by the latest statistics.

Last year the country saw more than $15b of building work carried out.

That's an increase of almost a quarter on the previous year.

Most of the work is happening in Auckland and Canterbury, where housing demand is highest.

Together, those centres accounted for nearly two thirds of all construction nationwide.

Residential development is leading the increase, including in Dunedin.

The city's almost reached its building peak of 2010, in line with the rest of the country.