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As we head into fall, nearly all indicators point to a hot housing market.
Historically low mortgage rates? With the average 30-year mortgage rate hitting an all-time low of 2.86 percent on Thursday, as reported by Inman's Patrick Kearns, that would be an enthusiastic yes.
Rising mortgage applications? With the number of applications rising 2.9 percent week over week, according to Inman's Lillian Dickerson, that's an affirmative.
In fact, Brian Rubenstein, senior director of mortgage at online lender Ally Home, told Inman's Andrea Brambila the share of first-time homebuyers tapping into loans from the company in July and August had grown to 60 percent of purchase volume, up from 42 percent of purchase volume the same time last year.
"I would expect us to continue to see a steady pick up in purchase volume through the remainder of this year and ... [stay] buoyed by the spring market next year," Rubenstein told Inman.
Meanwhile, the enthusiasm doesn't stop at median-priced homes. Leverage Global Partners CEO Eric Balog told Inman's Jim Dalrymple earlier this week that, thanks to a combination of low inventory and low rates, sales activity has soared in luxury markets across the country, with the exception of New York City.
"I would say that broadly, in the U.S., we're seeing luxury up across the board," Balog told Inman. "And it strikes me that that's because there's historically low inventory, and historically low interest rates combined with that."
Still, reports of a cooling market are also beginning to trickle in. On Thursday, realtor.com released its weekly housing market report, which indicated a decline in buyer demand and a modest rise in inventory.
"Housing demand cooled slightly, while new listings showed a smaller decline than previous weeks," realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale said in a statement. "This could be a hiccup in weekly activity, or if these trends continue, they could signal a shift in market dynamics leading into the fall when political, economic, and health-related uncertainties abound."
In other words? Who knows what to expect this fall.