For the third straight quarter, there has been a decrease in the number of homeowners across the nation who are delinquent on their mortgage payments 60 days or more, according to TransUnion.

Mortgage delinquency dropped to 6.44 percent in the third quarter – a 3.45 percent decrease compared to the second quarter – making it the largest quarterly decline since the fourth quarter of 2006, according to a statement. The third quarter decrease is twice the drop recorded in either of the previous two quarters of 2010 on a percentage basis. However, mortgage delinquency is still up 3.04 percent from the same time last year.

"This decline in mortgage delinquency rates, in tandem with a stabilization in housing prices in many areas of the country and record-low interest rates for mortgage loans, are all positive signs that this industry is moving in the right direction, coming out of one of the worst recessions in recent memory," said FJ Guarrera, vice president in TransUnion’s financial services business unit.

Massachusetts beat the national average with a delinquency rate of 4.95 percent.