The percentage of people who own the home they live in fell by 1.1 percent in 2007 -- the greatest one-year percentage decline in at least 25 years.

And while homeowners still account for 67.8 percent of occupied homes, one of the highest homeownership rates on record, the decline did make housing analysts take note.

"This was inevitable," says Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. "Home sales activity is low, foreclosures are high, and would-be homebuyers are sitting on the sidelines."

As of the end of 2007, there were an estimated 128.6 million housing units in the country -- with 110.9 million occupied and 17.7 million vacant. Of those occupied, about 75.2 million of them were being lived in by the owners (67.8 percent) and 35.7 million by renters (32.2 percent).

The national rate of homeownership peaked at the end of 2004 at 69.2 percent. At the end of September 2006, an even 69 percent were owned by the occupants. The rate has fallen ever since. Not since March 2002 has homeownership been reported so low.

Two big reasons

As banks take possession of a home, two things happen. First, the home sits vacant while it is working through the court system, and second, the previous owners are pushed into a rental -- both of which would drive down the homeownership percentage.