Fire has ripped through an apartment building under construction in Auckland, forcing the evacuation of nearby properties.

The three-storey building on Hobsonville Point Road caught fire before 4am on Friday.

Fifteen fire crews were needed to control the blaze, which was extinguished in about two hours.

Some nearby properties were evacuated as a precaution but the occupants were later allowed to return, a Fire Emergency NZ spokesman says.

No one was hurt in the fire and fire investigators will now work to determine the cause.

New Zealand Herald deliverer Nick Pennell, who was working in the area at the time, said he could see flames shooting high into the air.

"From Countdown you could see flames 30-40 feet above the building.

"The whole building was engulfed by flames.

"Things were raging."

He said the area was teeming with emergency vehicles and firefighters quickly taking control of the inferno.

The fire-ravaged building was in the final stages of construction and scaffolding still surrounds the perimeter, he said.