The sluggish housing market has picked up in Liberty and Long Counties, following an economic downturn and the return of many Fort Stewart soldiers from deployment overseas, local realtors say. The transient military community has always fueled the local housing market, they said. Whether a soldier plans to buy a home and retire here, or simply wants to rent a home until the next set of orders arrives, there are options available to suit most budgets.“I would say the housing market here is improving while average time (a house sits) on market has not really changed, 120 days in 2012 as compared to 123 days so far this year,” said Jimmy Shanken, a real estate broker with Coldwell Banker, Holtzman Realtors.