Standard & Poor's and the Experian credit-rating agency reported Tuesday that their credit default indices from five major cities were slightly higher in December than in November, though well below the year-ago levels.

The first-mortgage default rate, of most interest to the home-building industry, was 1.33 percent in December, compared with 1.26 percent in November. December 2010 was 1.74 percent.

“Led by the mortgage markets, the second half of 2011 saw a slight reversal of the two-year downward
trend in consumer credit default rates,” David M. Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the
Index Committee for S&P Indices, said in a statement. “First mortgage default rates rose for the fourth consecutive month, as did the composite."

"Given what we know about the mortgage markets, it is likely that these cities are seeing this recent weakness because their housing markets have still not stabilized,” Blitzer said.

Observers have suggested that foreclosures have risen in recent months because banks, which held off after the robo-signing issues and investigations, had resumed activity.

The default survey uses data from the New York, Chicago Los Angeles, Dallas and Miami metropolitan statistical areas.