These numbers provide a general indication of the amount of new housing stock that may have been added to the housing inventory.

Mr. Helie calls cutbacks by major corporations a prime factor in building the large housing inventory.

It stayed part of the state's housing inventory until the late 1970's.

"Our goal is to take our county-owned housing inventory of 570 houses down to zero," Mr. Jones said.

Fifteen years after the abandonment wave of the mid-70's the city is still divesting itself at huge expense of the housing inventory that was thrust upon.

Sadly, this law was repealed in 1974, though it didn't wreak the havoc that opponents had projected, and it contributed toward preserving our housing inventory.

The turn-of-the-century houses in the Longwood Historic District were in the city's tax-foreclosed housing inventory for years.

Over all, the housing inventory in each quarter of 2002 was higher than that of the corresponding quarter in 2001.

The total housing inventory is 2.99 million units, which includes private homes and public housing, plus other types of government-assisted housing.

For his part, Dr. Koppelman said his greatest regret was "never being able to achieve a balanced housing inventory" that would include more affordable homes.