As the market transitions to more normal conditions, there are home owners and real estate agents who won't rule out anything that could help sell a house – from practicing the principles of Feng Shui, hanging wind chimes, baking bread, choosing lucky numbers, to putting their faith in a small, plastic statue of a saint.
According to a tradition that is hundreds of years old, burying a statue of St. Joseph in the yard helps homes sell faster and makes the real estate transaction go smoother.
Various kits with instructions come with the St. Joseph statue, along with a prayer and are available online and at religious stores. It is believed that if you follow the kit's instructions, your home should sell quickly. The prayer and burying instructions vary, depending on where you purchase the kit, from burying the statue upside down or upright, by the front door, in the front yard, backyard or underneath the "For Sale" sign, facing the home, the street or the heavens. Once the house is sold, the statue should be dug up and put in a place of honor - a task many sellers confess they sometimes forget to do.
A number of Realtors appear to subscribe to the belief that St. Joseph has some power.
"It must work. Some Realtors will start out buying the statue the first time, then they come back and buy more," observed George Betsekas, Inventory and Store Manager for the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors® (SILVAR).
The kits may also be purchased by members at the association's Realtor store. Betsekas said last year, Realtors purchased 137 statues from the store; in 2005, they purchased 82. And since January of this year, so far, 37 statues have been purchased by SILVAR members.
Bill Vlahov, a Realtor with Intero Real Estate Services in Saratoga, just learned about the practice and he is now a believer.
"It works!" Vlahov exclaimed.
Vlahov, who just heard about the practice early this year, decided to try it on a Saratoga property that had been on the market for five weeks with no response. He and the home owner made a price adjustment, but he also buried the statue on Jan. 6, before his Open House. Five days later, he received the first offer, which was then followed a week later by yet another offer at an even higher price.
Realtor John Coyle of Cashin Company in Palo Alto and a client whose Atherton house was on the market, buried the St. Joseph statue and said the prayer together. Immediately, the house received more action. They received two offers right away and more offers followed a week later.
Andrew Pham, a Realtor with Intero Real Estate Services in Milpitas, has been burying St. Joseph for the past four years, ever since his aunt, who is a San Diego Realtor, urged him to do so.
Pham said, "I've used it for every listing I've had and the transactions go smoothly. I normally get a contract completed within two to three weeks after."
St. Joseph, carpenter, husband of the Virgin Mary and Jesus' earthly father, is regarded as the patron saint of home, family and laborers. Not everyone agrees on how the practice of calling upon him for help in selling a home originated, but the most popular story is traced to St. Teresa of Avila, a nun in the 16th Century, who buried a St. Joseph medal and prayed to the saint for help in getting land for a convent.
Stephen J. Binz's book, St. Joseph, My Real Estate Agent, is filled with stories of many homeowners who experienced difficulty selling their homes and reported "miraculous" sales not long after burying the statue on their property.
Burying a St. Joseph statue may be a display of faith, but Realtors also note, in addition to this practice, the seller must also do important tasks like fix-up on the property, properly stage the home and adjust the price to reflect market value. Realtors likewise, do their part to sell the home.
Pham even goes one step further. At the end of every transaction, he visits the church and donates money to St. Joseph.
The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.
The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.
Variations of this article have appeared in local area newspapers.
For further information, please email or call the SILVAR office at (408) 200-0100.