DALLAS (Dallas Morning News) – Texas’ mortgage delinquency rate in fourth quarter 2011 was about a third of a percentage point higher than in the previous quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported yesterday. During the last three months of 2011, more than 276,000 Texas homeowners (9.07 percent) had missed a mortgage payment. Nationally, the rate was 7.58 percent. According to the mortgage bankers, Texas now has the 14th-worst mortgage delinquency rate among the states. One bright side: Texas’ fourth quarter delinquency rate was less than it was at the end of 2010.