The rate that mortgage holders were late with their payments by 60 days or more rose in the June-to-September period for the first time since the last three months of 2009, according to TransUnion.
The credit reporting agency said 6.44 percent of homeowners missed two or more payments, an early sign of possible foreclosure. That was up from 5.88 percent in the third quarter of 2010, and from 5.82 percent in the 2011 second quarter.
The increase surprised TransUnion researchers, who had forecast late payments would fall during the quarter.