Sales had "slowed right down" after the September 4 earthquake and the city was "back to the beginning" after Tuesday's deadly aftershock.
While the western part of the city appeared not to have suffered any severe damage, the eastern suburbs and central city were "in a tragic state". There would be "no easy quick fix" to the situation as people rebuilt their lives, Mr Rankin said.
"There will be those that want to move out of Christchurch, but that's unlikely to be on a really major scale unless people are in severely affected areas where there is no hope of them getting their lives back for two or three years."
He believed prices would remain "relatively stable" because of the low volume of properties on the market.
"Until people are comfortable to buy, and that will take time as we have seen from September 4, it won't just happen all of a sudden. It might happen over two years."
Residential rental prices would also stay stable, he said, as landlords would have to meet people's ability to afford costs.
However, the "severe shortage of office space" meant he had "no doubt office rents will rise".
"I've already seen some evidence of that."
Businesses would not be negotiating over rents and would be prepared to pay "the going rate" to secure space.
"People will become more flexible and be prepared to accept interim measures that normally they would not contemplate."
The increase in average rents was not "people taking advantage of the system", but a reflection of the construction and development costs of renting newer buildings.
On the other hand, processing businesses or operations may move out of Christchurch and the "danger" was in getting them to return, Mr Rankin said.
REINZ Dunedin spokeswoman Liz Nidd said property management companies had been inquiring about accommodation in Dunedin where "a lot of empty rental property" was available.
Businesses could look at moving south if their buildings were affected, she said.
