Fewer U.S. homeowners are falling behind on their mortgage payments, according to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

CNNMoney.com reported that mortgage delinquency rates among U.S. homeowners fell to 13.56 percent at the end of December, the lowest level since late 2008.

The association’s quarterly National Delinquency Survey looked at the percentage of borrowers who are at least one payment past due on their mortgages or whose homes have been repossessed by their banks.

“I think we’ve turned the corner as concerned with loans 30 days late,” said Michael Fratantoni, vice president of research and economics with the bankers’ group. “It indicates that the economy has improved.”

Fratantoni said the number of loans with one payment past due fell by 0.91 percentage point to 8.22 percent from the end of the third quarter. That was the lowest rate since the onset of the recession in late 2007, he said.