With St Patrick’s Day coming up, I’ve been thinking a lot about the luck of the Irish, especially since I am quite Irish and my name is Pat. And while St. Patrick is a biggie and March 17th is my Name Day, there are a few other saints that I must admit are awfully helpful in selling houses.

One is St. Joseph. He is the widely recognized patron saint of real estate agents. I’ve had a few clients plant his statue, head down, in their front yards while their house was for sale.

Then, there is St. Anthony. Soon after I got into real estate, my grandmother, now St. Tootsie, told me that St. Joseph is too busy. St. Anthony is our family’s special saint when it comes to real estate. Now, I know he’s great for finding lost car keys, 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 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.