The rate of construction is up around the country, with building activity increasing in most regions.

Nationally there was $4.2b worth of construction in the last quarter alone.

Details for Dunedin aren't available, but Statistics New Zealand has measured activity for Canterbury and the rest of the South Island.

Excluding Canterbury, there was $395m worth of building work in the South Island during the September quarter.

That's the highest quarterly level for the area in at least five years.