Housing rents have been picked to increase rapidly in the next two years - an issue which will overtake high house prices as a far bigger problem, according to Property Institute chief executive Ashley Church.
"The cost of renting will continue to rise and this will replace the cost of housing as the number one housing issue in 2018," he predicted.
"While it's normal to see rent increases in the period following a property boom, the environment in which they will take place in 2018 will be made worse," he said.
Rents would be pushed up this year by a continuation of high immigration which has meant demand has exceeded supply, he said.
Loan-to-value restrictions have driven investors out of the market and that had taken a toll, he said.