Military families relocating to Huntsville want many of the same things other homebuyers do.

They’re looking for good schools for their kids. They’re looking for safe places to live. They’re looking for a short commute if they choose not to live on the base at Redstone Arsenal.

But many of them faced a difficult time during the housing crunch caused by the pandemic in the Huntsville market.

“We’ve had challenges over the past 12 to 24 months with inventory,” said Maura Neill, of REMAX Around Atlanta, who led a Military Relocation Professional Certification class for the Huntsville Area Association of Realtors. “There were not enough houses for people who want to buy, which led to many multiple offers, bidding wars.”

That shut out many military families because of the short time they would be living here, and the complexity of Veterans Affairs financing, which made the process more expensive for those who could find housing.