LOS ANGELES — Fewer U.S. homeowners are falling behind on their mortgage payments, aided by rising home values, low interest rates and stable job gains.

The trend brought down the national late-payment rate on home loans in the third quarter to a five-year low, credit reporting agency TransUnion said today.

The percentage of mortgage holders at least two months behind on their payments fell in the July-September quarter to 4.09 percent from a revised 5.33 percent a year earlier, according to the firm, whose data go back to 1992.

The latest rate also declined from 4.32 percent in the second quarter.