A New Real Estate Market Indicator

There are as many opinions about what the market will do - or is doing - as there are Realtors and real estate columnists. Finding an indicator you can trust is not easy. So I was happy to read about one that I can understand…statues of St. Joseph.

That’s right, one of the seller’s favorites to bring good buyers to their home has become a reliable indicator of how the housing market is doing in any area. A recent Boston Globe article tells how a local shopkeeper sees a real estate downturn because these days he’s selling 300 St. Joseph statues a month; when the market was booming, he was lucky to a couple a week.

According to the article, "Tradition has it that if you bury a statue upside down and facing the property you are trying to sell, St. Joseph will direct a buyer your way." It goes on to say that the belief goes back some 500 years when it originated in a convent in Europe.

Wherever it started, the custom of burying a St. Joseph statue on your property is popular in many places today. I’m not saying I believe it makes a difference, but with the market cooling in some areas, people are probably thinking, "It couldn’t hurt!"