Forget the agents; commission a saint to sell a home

By Melissa Wirkus

The slowing market has caused frustrated and exhausted home sellers to go to some interesting lengths to get rid of their home.

It seems as though there is nothing that we have not seen yet.

From spending thousands of dollars on professional “home stagers” to get the home sale-ready, to offering a brand new Mercedes at closing, it seems home sellers will stop at nothing to lure-in buyers.

The overwhelming surplus of homes on the market is now causing sellers to turn to a higher power.

A time-tested tradition of burying a statue of St. Joseph in the yard of a home to be sold is now making a comeback as the market continues to stall and home owners scramble for alternative ways that just may get that home off their hands.

An October 29, 2006 article by Lew Sichelman of The San Diego Union Tribune, “Traditions hold sway in housing industry,” looks into this age-old custom.

“Home sellers who are at their wits' end may want to invoke the good graces of Joseph of Nazareth, patron saint of the home. Stephen Binz did, and within a week he snared a buyer. His house in Little Rock, Ark., had been on the market for several months when his Presbyterian realty agent suggested he bury a statue of St. Joseph in his yard. But Binz, a biblical scholar and author, thought the idea ‘was a ridiculous and superstitious practice.’”

Binz decided to try it anyways, and the morning after he completed the burial, the man who bought his house a week later came to look at the property.

There are countless opinions on exactly how and where the statue should be buried around the house.

“Some say the statue should be buried upside down, perhaps close to the for-sale sign in the front yard. But others say it should be buried facing the house, in the backyard, exactly 6 inches deep. And still others say don't bury it at all, but attach it to the sign or front door.”

“Once the house is sold, custom has it that the statue should be dug up – or taken down – and given a place of honor in the seller's new home as a reminder of the efficacy of St. Joseph's intercession.”

Binz even wrote a book partly about his experience with the statue entitled, “St. Joseph, My Real Estate Agent” (Servant Publications, 2003).

“‘Joseph was a home builder, not only because he built homes for a living as a carpenter, but because he was a husband and father. He earned a living; he provided for his family; he taught his son, he cared for his wife; he struggled with independence as a teenager. Who could be a better patron of homes than the man who established a home for the world's most remarkable family?’”

This practice has been around since the Middle Ages, although there is no hard data on whether it really attracts buyers or not.

But if you are one of the countless sellers looking for a buyers, it probably won’t hurt to enlist a little help from above.

Back to Articles