Consumer confidence remains strong, pointing to continued momentum for the New Zealand economy.
Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Index dropped marginally to 117.7 this month.
A reading above 100 indicated optimism.
ANZ Bank chief economist Cameron Bagrie said the positives were outweighing the negatives.
"A key risk to the economy - low dairy incomes - is being worked through, with global dairy prices showing welcome signs of recovery.
"A high New Zealand dollar remains a boon for consumers, though it's a headwind for exporters," he said.
Mr Bagrie said house price expectations have eased in Auckland, and looming tighter mortgage lending may dent sentiment.
"While tighter loan-to-value ratio restrictions have yet to be enacted in a formal sense, they are being applied immediately and we may be seeing some early response.
"That said, the fact it was Auckland alone where house price expectations eased up suggests local factors are at play...after surging so far, Auckland's housing market needs to consolidate," he added.