Aid for home sellers without a prayer

BOSTON — Judy Moore knew she was going to have trouble selling the home with the really steep driveway. For help, she turned not to an advertiser or a fellow real-estate agent, but to someone she hadn't used since the last slowdown in the housing market: St. Joseph.

She buried a figurine of the Roman Catholic saint upside down in the home's yard. And soon, sure enough, she had her sale.

"I've seen all different kinds of markets, and I do believe pulling from whatever powers I can to make it work," said Moore, an agent in the Boston suburb of Lexington.

Now that the red-hot housing market has begun to cool off, homeowners and real-estate agents are doing whatever they can to clinch a sale, and that includes putting their faith in a statue of a saint.

Sellers of religious merchandise say sales of St. Joseph statues have shot up over the past year all over the country.

Instructions that come with St. Joseph statues suggest burying him upside down or upright; in the front yard, backyard or near the "For Sale" sign; facing the home, the heavens or the street; and saying a prayer or making a simple request for a buyer.

Joseph, the carpenter husband of the Virgin Mary, is the patron saint of laborers and house hunters, among others. The belief that St. Joseph aids home sellers traces back to St. Teresa of Avila, a nun in the 16th century who buried a medal of the saint and prayed to him to help get land for convents.

The modern tradition in the United States dates back at least four decades and is believed to have first gained in popularity on the heavily Catholic East Coast.

Phil Cates, whose StJosephStatue.com of Modesto, Calif., offers 4- and 8-inch white statues, said he expects his business to grow 200 percent to 250 percent this year over 2005. Roman Inc. of Addison, Ill., which sells four styles to stores, has seen its sales increase 33 percent this year, chief executive Dan Loughman said.

Demand isn't limited to Catholic homeowners or real-estate agents.

Homeowner Diana Grammont is not Catholic but decided to give St. Joseph a try after her friend sold a home within a week of following the ritual. Grammont and her husband buried a statue upside down in the front yard of their Lexington home, which has been on the market since early summer.

"Who knows what will come of it? It's worth a try," she said.