How can I tell if the housing market is up or down?

[Erica Hutchinson]

Please forgive me if this comes off as a basic or dense question, I am brand spanking new to REI.

My objective is to purchase a duplex/triplex to utilize the house hacking method. My concern is, once I get a pre-approval letter for a FHA loan, I'll only have about 3 months to purchase a property. I just want to time obtaining the pre-approval letter when the market is on the lower side in order to get the best price. Are there any signs of a downswing in the housing market? What can I look for?