St Joseph is the widely recognized patron saint of real estate agents.  Many of my colleagues and my own clients have planted his statue, head down, in next to a for sale sign so he will help the house sell. 

Ah, but there is another saint who I’ve found to be even more helpful.

Soon after I got into real estate, my grandmother, now St. Tootsie, told me that St. Joseph is too busy.  St. Anthony, she said, is our family's special saint when it comes to real estate.  Now, I know he's great for finding lost car keys.  I mean, jeez, he found my whole entire car when it was lost last week!  But real estate? 

She explained that he is the patron saint of things that are lost. If you have clients looking for a house, it's a lost house until he helps them find it. For an unsold listing, the buyers are lost, and a little St. Anthony statue in the front yard or on the windowsill will help find the lost buyer. And I must admit that during my long real estate career, I have been a major customer of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception's gift shop. They have the area's best selection of St Anthony statues. 

Finally, for the jobs that are too tough even for St. Anthony, we have St. Jude, the patron saint of impossible cases. Now, I haven't run into too many St Jude jobs, but I may go over to the National Shrine's gift shop to buy a couple of his statues. I'm getting a lot of new listings, and this market is sending mixed messages.  A good recovering Catholic real estate broker has to be prepared. 

Still, St. Anthony is the mainstay of my working saints.

But what about agents and clients who are not Catholic?

Some Hindu sellers welcomed St. Anthony onto their front yard, and he found their buyers.  

A Jewish seller placed him on the windowsill of her Georgetown condo, and we had multiple offers when nothing else in the building was moving.

A favorite agent who is a wiccan is one of St. Anthony’s major devotees.  

Now, it helps if he's on the windowsill of one of your listings to have it priced right, looking wonderful and easily shown.

St. Anthony is a really good guy!  I should send him referral fees!