Auckland firms that send engineers and construction staff to Christchurch for the rebuild have just learned their projects are going to be much more expensive.

People signing to build a house are being warned that hiring a Master Builder doesn't mean automatically getting a guarantee.

Echoing demands from Prime Minister John Key that Auckland Council free up farmland for housing development, Dr Smith is vowing "to break through the stranglehold that the existing Metropolitan Urban Limit has on land supplies".

Damaged chimneys and homeless people are likely to lead to more abandoned red zone properties going up in flames this winter, firefighters fear.

Earthquake repair contractors at Canterbury University will be forced off campus if they harass female students after claims of "derogatory" comments by staff.

Our building stock could look radically different in the next few years as owners and architects introduce new seismic elements, an expert says.

Kingsland property owner Pam Willis says insurance premiums may reach the point where owners start tearing down commercial buildings.

Mark Simmonds who, with his wife Bronwyn Paul, runs a wedding and event venue in a renovated Edwardian building in Wanganui, can no longer get insurance cover for earthquake damage.

The Government is proposing building owners strengthen earthquake-prone buildings within the next 15 years so that by 2028, we will be much safer if another major quake strikes.

Affordability is a huge issue for small businesses and building owners, Mr Gudgeon says. "Strengthening is a cost burden - with no return".

Some of New Zealand's historic buildings are about to be hit by a multibillion-dollar bombshell, as the Government forces their strengthening, experts claim.

Confusion surrounds the ability of body corporates of leaky buildings to claim GST refunds, as the Inland Revenue seems reluctant to have its decisions in two leading cases stand as precedents.

Building a house can be an ugly process. Building firms fail faster than Taylor Swift updates her paramours.

Home-building consents fell last month as a drop in approvals for apartments offset gains for other types of dwellings

A proposed rewrite of Auckland's tarnished heritage rules leaves power in the hands of unelected officials and shuts out the public.

Former American FBI special agent turned New Zealand DIY hardware chain boss John Hartmann is leaving Mitre 10.

Another company linked to Dame Jenny Shipley is under pressure and may be forced to stop operating by September if it cannot meet new Reserve Bank requirements.

SkyCity got special treatment in its pitch to build the international convention centre - but nothing which will get in the way of a formal deal being struck.

If work on Mainzeal Property and Construction's sites is frozen for another six weeks, national construction activity could be depressed by up to 3 per cent, says an economist.

Fletcher Building chief executive Mark Adamson could slice costs by $75 million, as the construction giant tries to pare back spending to bolster its bottom line.

The Government's goal of building 2000 new state houses in two years has been questioned after it was revealed that it had built only 68 homes in the past year.

Recommendations of amendments to the Building Act to give owners of reinforced masonry buildings a deadline to bring up to earthquake standard or demolish them - which threatens many heritage buildings.

Walkers and cyclists are jubilant at winning Auckland Council committee support yesterday for a harbour bridge pathway, but face another workout before a final council sign-off.

A High Court judge has stepped down from hearing the case of three men associated with Dominion Finance.

Prime Minister John Key has given his qualified support to Jenny Shipley remaining chair of the soon-to-be-listed power company Genesis.