The number of borrowers who are behind on their mortgages in Missouri ticked back up in the second quarter, after falling for the last six months.

Nearly one in 11 loans in Missouri - 8.8 percent - is past due, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. That's down from a peak of 9.72 percent at the end of 2009. Even more important, the key 90-day-past-due figure dipped a bit.

Over in Illinois, just under 10 percent of borrowers are behind - 9.97 percent - also down from a high of 11.08 percent at the end of 2009.

Nationally, the delinquency rate fell two-tenths of a percentage point, on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

It's a slim ray of good news in an otherwise bleak week on the housing front, but, really, nothing to get too excited about, said Jay Brinkmann, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association.

"Ultimately, the housing story, whether it is delinquencies, home sales or housing starts, is an employment story," he said. "Until we see the increase in the number of households that comes with an increase in the number of paychecks, all measures of the health of the housing industry will continue to be weak."

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