In the second quarter of this year, the number of home owners late on their mortgage payments increased to 12.87 percent, after falling for more than a year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

That second-quarter figure of 12.87 percent refers specifically to mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit homes that were 30 days or more past due, or in the foreclosure process, and represents 6.3 million households overall that are now late on their payments, according to the Wall Street Journal. That's down from last year's 14.4 percent from the equivalent time period, but up slightly from 12.84 percent at the end of this past March.

As we recently reported, the actual foreclosure rate on homes is currently near a four-year low. That drop in filings was due, in part, to government payment assistance and loan modification programs, and investigations into robo-signed foreclosures that put many filings on hold across the country.

In its coverage of the Mortgage Bankers Association's survey findings, the Wall Street Journal points out that the recent rise in delinquent mortgage payments points to how the not-so-hot job market can threaten the still-not-recovered housing market.

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National Delinquency Survey [Mortgage Bankers Association]
Home-Loan Delinquencies Rise Again [Wall Street Journal]