Everyone understands that it has become pretty difficult to sell a home these days, regardless of how beautiful you may think it is.

With the surplus of homes on today’s market, many people have become increasingly desperate in their efforts to sell.

It seems as if home sellers will stop at nothing and try every trick in the book in order to succeed at selling.

Some are even turning to religion to sell their home.

A recent article from Inman News and posted on Yahoo.com, “Why won’t my second home sell,” discusses what some people are now doing in an attempt to get their home off their hands, especially if it is their second property or vacation home.

The article starts out by telling the story of an ex-priest and his wife who buried some palm leaves in the four corners of his home after he tried everything else to sell it. But in this last attempt of faith, he found he had succeeded.

“The couple not only got a full-price offer, but they heard from other folks who had buried religious articles in their yards -- statues, medals, holy cards -- in the hope of divine intervention. Many claim they sold their home almost as soon as the garden spade was re-hung.”

“‘The idea came from the agent who was helping us sell our place,’ said Kevin King, the former priest who passed along the palm tip. ‘She was a member of our church and her mother had buried palm leaves in her yard. We thought, 'What the heck?' We had made an offer on a house we really wanted and we had to sell our place to get the house. I was certain a few prayers weren't going to hurt.’”

But it seems that there is another type of religious artifact that is becoming the most popular tool to sell a home – and that is the St. Joseph statue. The patron saint of family and households has been known as a secret way to get a house sold fro years, but our slowing housing market has made the statue become even more popular with desperate home sellers, even those who are not religious.

The legend of the St. Joseph statue says that if you bury the small statue in the yard of the home you are trying to sell, a buyer will come to you.

Although there is no scientific evidence supporting this, many people are willing to give it a shot.

Take it from people who make a living out of selling the statues:

“A Modesto, Calif., couple has now sold more than 500,000 ‘St. Joseph: Underground Real Estate Agent’ kits for $8, plus $1.95 for shipping and handling. When I contacted Karin Reenstierna and Phil Cates seven years ago, total sales amounted to about 6,000. You can get yours by calling 1-888-BURY-JOE or by visiting www.stjosephstatue.com.”

“Cates said while the initial requests were for primary homes, he's getting more and more owners looking for assistance on second homes and investment properties.”