It’s no secret that the two most populous markets where home values got hit hardest during the housing bust – Florida and California – are now both well into  rebound mode. But which one appears to be the stronger at the moment?

From a review of the latest monthly data compiled from local multiple listing services by Realtor.com,  there’s no question: Both states are seeing localized price gains that  far outpace most metropolitan areas around the country – the national median list price gain was just 0.8 percent for the 12 months ending in September.  But Florida’s recovery is a bit more uneven, with some local markets lagging and even going negative, while most California cities are seeing substantial price gains, some of them reminiscent of the “bubble” numbers last seen in 2004-2005.