And with the sales of these statues running at about 300 a month, St. Joseph statues have become his best seller. In fact, sales of the statue are so strong now that they outstrip all of the other saints combined.
They even outsell Jesus and Mary.
But according to a story in the Boston Globe it's not your usual run on statutes. It has meaning and significance far beyond a religious awakening. And as weird as it may sound it's just another sign of a downturn in housing.
You see, it's not the off-the-street traffic that's driving these sales.
Believe or not, it's realtors. And it's something that Mr. Cranely has seen before.
Because unbeknownst to many, St. Joseph statues have long been used by Catholics and non-Catholics alike to help sell properties that have been on the market too long.
It's a tradition that was begun over 500 years ago. It was then that a group of nuns needed more land for their convent. At their wits end they decided to bury their St. Joseph medals in the ground in hopes that it would provide them with an answer.
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Naturally, the nuns received their land and the tradition was born. It continues to this day as home sellers and real estate agents alike have taken up the practice and buried St. Joseph statues in the front yards of their homes.
Of course the practice is one of desperation. But desperation has suddenly become the state of the housing market. It's reflected in the sales of the statues.
According to Mr. Cranely, "We can't keep them in stock. Realtors are buying them by the dozens"
But it's not just limited to Boston. It's all across the country.
In fact, Phil Cates, the owner of stjosephstatue.com, reports that his sales have double since last year. And according to the Globe sales of the statue are particularly strong for his company in Florida.
According to Mr. Cates, "About a quarter of my sales are in Florida right now. The market is getting killed there."
But the statue business isn't the only one profiting from the downturn. Auctioneers have seen an up tick in business also.
Some it seems can't wait on a statue.
Nationally, residential real estate auctions are the fastest growing segment of the business according to the National Auctioneers Association.
One auctioneer, Daniel DeCaro of Florida, had so much business that he actually began turning business down. He has since added another division to handle to the new business.
But given the state of the market, it all makes sense. Last year, auctioneers sold $14.2 billion worth of homes, an 8.4% increase over 2004. Industry watchers expect an even bigger increase in 06.
But while statue makers and auctioneers have seen an up-tick in business, others have seen a reversal of fortune.
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Take Toll Brother for instance.
Recent sales figures for the company have been dismal to say the least. July sales plunged 19% year over year and the company has gone on to warn on earnings.
But that's not the worst of it.
The company went on to report that the current slump in residential construction is unlike anything it has ever seen before.
The slowdown it says, "is the first downturn in forty years since we entered the business that was not precipitated by high interest rates, a weak economy, job losses or other macroeconomic factors"
CEO Robert Toll further explained that "The continuing malaise in the housing market, we believe, seems to be the result of an oversupply of inventory and a loss of confidence."
Unfortunately for the builder this "malaise" has taken its own toll.
Its share price has been devastated and its signed contracts for the just completed quarter have plunged a stunning 45%.
But Toll is not alone. Just last week the National Association of Home Builders reported that confidence among its members had reached a 15 year low.
Needless to say, it not quite the "soft landing" they had hoped for.
But that would hardly surprise Angelo R. Mozilo. He's the CEO of Countrywide Financial, the biggest mortgage lender in the country.
He's been in the business for more than 53 years and he's not shy about it.
In a recent conference call Mr. Mozilo told analysts that, "I've never seen a soft landing in 53 years."
Mr. Mozilo it seems has learned a thing or two in 53 years.
All of this, of course, does not bode very well for existing home sales either.
After all, when two industry giants put the kibosh on a soft landing it can hardly be ignored.
In fact data released today seems to bear that out.
The National Association of Realtors reported today that existing home sales dropped in July to their lowest level since January 2004. The report went on to note that the inventory of unsold homes has climbed to a new record high, which has only added a fresh sign that the market has indeed lost its steam.
Amazingly, at current sales levels it would take 7.3 months to just to exhaust the overhang.
But despite this fact, David Learah, the association's chief economist, is still optimistic. In fact, he still expects a "soft landing"
But perhaps he should talk to David Holland of Florida.
He is one of the casualties of the housing boom and he certainly doesn't believe in soft landings.
Mr. Holland,afterall was one of the boom's speculators. And when he paid $315,700 for his Centex built home in December 2004 he figured he had an easy flip and a quick profit.
But as sales slowed down his flip turned into a flop.
He sold his home recently at auction and walked away with only $255,000.
After all of costs were added in he ended up losing over $70,000 on the deal.
In the end the market had spoken.
But sadly, Mr. Holland is not alone.
There are thousands of others just like him out there in the market. They were greedy and they believed the hype.
For them there is only going to be one kind of landing...the hard kind.
Unfortunately for them they may owe more than there house is worth....a lot more.
And when this happens St. Joseph isn't going to be able to help them no matter what their realtors tell them.
Its not going to be pretty
But hey.....there is always St.Jude.
Maybe Ward's Gift shop should load up on them both.
