Fewer urban Australians are shifting house after average rental price increases more than doubled in Sydney and Melbourne in the last quarter.
According to Australia's largest property management company RUN, the average rent increase rose by 8.62 per cent to A$109.27 ($124.53) between November to February, compared toa rise of A$53.50 ($60.97) between July to October.
RUN said of its 20,000 properties under management, 3,220 were re-let between July and February.
And of those, almost eight in 10 faced a rent increase in during that period.
RUN Chief executive Robert Farmer said fewer people had moved into new rental properties between January and March, despite what is usually a busy period.
"A lot of tenants that would have normally moved out have actually been happy to stay in their property because they know how difficult it is out there to find the equivalent rent," he said.
Mr Farmer said it was only now, after several years, that investors were increasing their rental yields.
"Rents are catching up with the cost of living," he said.
"There is no doubt that it is a strong market."
Experts are predicting the rental market to remain strong over the two to three years.
According to RUN, suburbs in Sydney hardest hit by rental increases were Wollstonecraft, Potts Point, Waverley and Kensington, where rents rose by between 9.9 and 18.7 per cent.
In Melbourne, St Kilda East faced the greatest rental rise, with rents increasing by almost a quarter, or 24.3 per cent.
