Home sales in Cullman are up from last year, but the demand for more affordable of medium-cost housing is also on the rise.

The Alabama Center for Real Estate (ACRE) reports that local home sales were 25.8 percent above the five-year October average of 60 sales. Homes listed for sale in Cullman County in October totaled 505 units, however, a decrease of 9 percent from October 2017’s 555 units, and an increase of 1 percent from September 2018’s 500 units. Cullman County experienced a year-over-year decline in months of supply in October.

The issue of supply, or available inventory for home buyers, is one of the top issue local real estate agents face, according to Wes Warren, broker at Happy Homes Real Estate LLC in Cullman.

“Our area overall is doing very good, but we still have a limited inventory,” Warren said. “The medium range homes — the $120,000 to $145,000 — is what a lot of people are looking for, especially among younger families.”

Historical area homes seldom are available and a lot of the building is currently in a range significantly higher than the medium pricing, he said.

The Cullman County median sales price in October was $135,700, a decrease of 1.7 percent from one year ago and a decrease of 3.1 percent from the prior month. This direction is consistent with historical data (2013-17) indicating that the October median sales price on average decreases from September by 2.2 percent, according to ACRE.

More affordable housing is a growing concern across the area, in addition to overall inventory and options to traditional housing. The Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce is hosting the second part of a forum tonight at 6 p.m. at the Cullman County Courthouse concerning the area’s housing needs. The event is open to the public.

“We also here a lot from people who are moving here about loft living and we just don’t have much of that to offer at this time, even though it could be coming at some point,” Warren said. “Rental housing is also in high demand throughout the area. Probably the biggest demand we see for all types of housing is in the city, even though in the county real estate is doing well.”