LOS ANGELES » Hawaii has the 21st-highest mortgage delinquency rate in the nation, though the third-quarter rate of 4.67 percent continues a declining trend, according to TransUnion, a credit reporting agency. The state’s mortgage delinquency rate was 5 percent in the third quarter of 2011 and 4.7 percent in the second quarter of this year.

The rate also is dipping nationally, down to 5.41 percent from 5.88 percent in the third quarter of last year. The 5.41 rate is the lowest point in more than three years, TransUnion said.

Homeowners are doing a better job of keeping up with mortgage payments, aided by an improving housing market and low interest rates that are making refinancing easier.

The national mortgage delinquency rate hasn’t been this low since the first quarter of 2009. Still, it remains well above the average historical range of 1 to 2 percent, an indication that many homeowners still are struggling with payments.

The report also found that Hawaii has the third-highest average mortgage debt per borrower at $310,373, down from $334,606 in the third quarter of 2011 and below the $314,415 in the second quarter of this year.

"People used to pay their mortgage first, and now they pay their auto and their credit cards before their mortgage," said Tim Martin, group vice president of U.S. housing for TransUnion. "We think that’s probably still in place."

Even so, some homeowners are benefiting from the gradual turnaround in housing this year.

U.S. home prices jumped 5 percent in September compared with a year ago, the largest year-over-year increase since July 2006, according to data provider CoreLogic.

Higher prices help bring down the number of homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, potentially making refinancing easier to lower monthly payments.

Interest rates remain near record lows, making qualifying for refinancing possible for more homeowners. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage was 3.40 percent last week and has been below 4 percent all year.

There are some signals that the job market is improving. Employers added 171,000 jobs in October, and hiring in August and September was much stronger than first estimated.

The economy has gained an average of 173,000 jobs a month since July. That’s up from 67,000 a month in April through June.

Still, unemployment remains stubbornly high at just under 8 percent.

At the state level, Florida led the nation in the third quarter with the highest mortgage delinquency rate of any state at 13.09 percent. It was followed by Nevada at 10.93 percent, New Jersey at 8.33 percent and Maryland at 6.86 percent.

The states with the lowest delinquency rates were North Dakota at 1.44 percent, South Dakota at 2.21 percent, Nebraska at 2.25 percent and Alaska at 2.48 percent.

TransUnion anticipates the national mortgage delinquency rate will decline slightly in the fourth quarter to about 5.35 percent, even though some cash-strapped homeowners typically elect to put off making some of their debt payments so they can spend on holiday shopping.

The company’s research is culled from TransUnion’s database of 27 million anonymous consumer records.

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Star-Advertiser reporter Erika Engle contributed to this story.