The Star Tribune reports on another trend that appears when homes don't sell. "Super Bowl Sunday, is often considered a kickoff to the spring real estate market. Agents say activity so far suggests the market could be as busy as last year's near-record pace. But sales of the St Joseph statues suggest that sellers aren't quite so optimistic."

"St. Joseph has become an icon to nervous homesellers who believe, or want to believe, that burying his statue on the property will bring the saint's intercession, and a sale. Purchases of the saint's statues, including one packaged in a $6.95 homeseller's kit complete with prayers and instructions, have surged in recent months, according to Tim Doran, president of three Twin Cities-area religious supply stores."

"Doran said monthly sales of the kits have increased on average 33 percent, adding that sales of a less-expensive statue ($1.95) are up even more. Those increases coincide with a steep rise in the number of unsold houses in the Twin Cities area."

"For the week ending Jan. 21, new listings in the 13-county metro area were up 26 percent over the same period a year ago, according to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors. For buyers, this is one of the best markets in years. Buyers have the luxury of shopping around and doing a little tire-kicking without the multiple-offer worries they faced last year."

"In December, for example, 7.15 houses were on the market for every buyer, up from 4.32 at the same time last year."

"Bob Pacieznik, a sales agent in Chanhassen, was something of a skeptic, until he landed a couple of hard-to-sell listings. 'I walked in and said to the woman: 'I have to sell a house,' and she said, 'You need St. Joseph.' And they have one with St. Joseph standing next to a For Sale sign.'"

"After their $540,000 house in Prior Lake had been on the market for three slow months, Holly and Sean Ploeger were willing to do anything to sell it. So in December, they pulled up soil at the base of their For Sale sign and buried a little statue of St. Joseph in a plastic bag upside down and looking away from the house (the direction they want to go)."

"'At this point, nothing can hurt,' Holly Ploeger said. 'It gives us something to hope for because nothing else was working.'"

"'"It shows the desperateness of some sellers,' said Bruce Erickson, sales agent. 'I think sellers can use everything they've got right now.'"