A centuries-old practice claims burying a statue of St. Joseph in the yard helps homes sell faster and makes the real estate transaction go smoother. Stephen J. Binz's book, St. Joseph, My Real Estate Agent: Patron Saint of Home Life and Home Selling, is filled with stories of many homeowners who experienced difficulty selling their homes reporting seemingly miraculous sales soon after burying a statue of St. Joseph on their property.
St. Joseph, carpenter, husband of the Virgin Mary and Jesus' earthly father, is regarded as the patron saint of the home, home sellers and homebuilders. The practice of calling upon him for help in selling a home dates back to hundreds of years, although not everyone agrees how it originated. 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.
Kits with instructions and a prayer card come with the St. Joseph statue and are available online and at religious stores. The kits may also be purchased by Realtors from their association's Realtor store.
"Realtors who buy it say it works. A Realtor will start out buying the statue the first time, then come back and buy more," observed George Betsekas, inventory and store manager for the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors.
It is believed that if you follow the kit's instructions, your home should sell quickly. The prayer and burying instructions vary, 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 is to be dug up and placed in a place of honor.
Since March 19 is St. Joseph's feast day, it seemed appropriate to check out the sales of St. Joseph statues this year, and find out if the statues are even selling. With it being a seller's market and having the lowest inventory on record, would anyone even need a statue to sell a house these days?
Betsekas traced sales of the statue through the years, noting some years Realtors appeared to need St. Joseph's intercession more than other years. In 2006, Realtors purchased 137 statues from the store. Ten years later, in 2016, that number dropped to 63.
Last year, sales of St. Joseph statues were down to just 22, and as of January 2018, Betsekas said he has sold only one statue. The statue was purchased by Suskia Feain, a Realtor with Intero Real Estate Services.
Feain said she has purchased St. Joseph statues through the years when she felt she needed that extra help to sell a home. She even keeps the prayer card in her car.
Burying a St. Joseph statue is a display of faith, said Feain. She is a Catholic after all, but indicated that even sellers who are non-Catholic are willing to try it.
"This year I have an especially difficult property in Morgan Hill that is off the grid. It has attracted some lookers, but still has not sold," said Feain. "The statue has always been very successful for me, so for this home, I thought, why not?"
Feain noted Realtors don't stop at burying the statue and saying the prayer. They do their due diligence, advertise and market the property for the seller, and ensure the sale that follows runs smoothly for all parties, in accordance to the Realtor Code of Ethics.
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.
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