Michael Corkery reports:

After California, Florida has the second highest number of foreclosure filings. But there’s a potentially disturbing difference between the nation’s foreclosure epicenters. While home sales in some California markets are increasing (Sacramento, for example is up 76% in May) from last year due largely to bargain hunters scooping foreclosed homes from banks, there’s been no comparable distressed sale boom in many Florida markets, says housing economist Tom Lawler. . One reason may be that while prices have fallen in Florida, the flood of bank fire sales has not yet begun, as many troubled mortgages are still working through the foreclosure system.

“Something is clogging up the process,” says Mr. Lawler, who estimates it takes about half as much time to resolve a foreclosure in California, through either a bank sale or work out, than it does in Florida.

A possible explanation for the backlog is that foreclosures are resolved in the Florida court system, which can be time consuming, Mr. Lawler says. Foreclosures in California, meanwhile, are often resolved outside the judicial process, possibly speeding up the turn around time.

The delay is not good news for Florida residents and the lenders and investors that bet heavily on housing in the Sunshine State.

“Florida just seems to be nowhere close to the part of cycle that California is in, which seems crazy given how bad things look there now,’’ says Mr. Lawler. “It means that price adjustments, even though they have been fairly dramatic, are not finished