Tenant demand has risen for three months in a row, according to the latest RICS survey.
Each month RICS asks surveyors whether tenant demand went up, down or stayed the same. In September, more of them said up than down, for the third month running. The same survey found fewer new landlord instructions, and surveyors expect rents to keep rising over the next three months.
Think of it like a queue outside a shop. The survey tells you the queue is getting longer. It doesn't tell you how long it is, and it can't tell you what the shop will charge tomorrow. The rent forecast is what surveyors think will happen, which is a different thing from what has happened.
So before you set a rent, look at the rents actually agreed on comparable properties in your own area over the past three months.
Related: Tenant demand heat map
Co-founder of Propalt and a property investor and developer for 20 years
