House stager: $10,000. Realtor: $30,000. New carpets: $5,000. Still doesn't move? $9.95 St. Joe!

Yup, times are-a-gettin' tough. Next we'll be seeing voodoo doctors, palm readers, rain dancers and exorcists if this dead inventory doesn't start movin...

When sales fall, they call St. Joe

Donald Ward Cranley doesn't need to look at the latest economic indicators to know how the real estate market is faring. He just checks the inventory in his shop, Ward's Gifts, on High Street in Medford.

If sales of the beige, 5-inch St. Joseph statues are slow, it means the real estate market is strong. If sales are brisk, the market is weak. Lately, all signs point to a real estate meltdown: He's selling 300 statues a month.

"We can't keep them in stock," he said. "Everybody comes in here looking for them. Realtors are buying a dozen at a time."

St. Joseph statues have long been used by sellers to help move property. 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.

About half of the agents in Zajac's office use the statues. Some sellers are a bit reluctant to embrace the tradition, but if the market gets soft enough and houses sit for long enough, most eventually come around, Zajac said.