RealtyTrac has deemed Chicago as the city with the biggest backlog of foreclosed homes among the 20 top metropolitan areas in the nation. More 118,000 homes were either owned by banks or going through the foreclosure process in May.

Real estate experts say the high numbers are due to a number of factors including Attorney General Lisa Madigan's investigation into bank robo-signing, protections for borrowers built into Illinois law, and the unwillingness by banks to get rid of properties at a lower price than the original mortgage loans taken out for the homes. All of this means that the properties stay in the possession of banks longer, leading to the massive backlog of foreclosed homes in the Chicagoland area.