PHOENIX -- The recent housing slump has some homeowners turning to religion to sell their homes.

Sandy Boynton had her house on the market for six months in 1991 with no luck.

"The market was at an all-time low," Boynton said.

Then, she bought a St. Joseph statue and buried it in her yard.

"I sold my house a week later," Boynton said.

St. Joseph is the patron saint of fathers, husbands and home sales. According to Catholic folklore, burying a St. Joseph statue in the yard will cause a home to sell quickly and for a good price.

Bob Weflen runs The King's House, a religious store in Scottsdale.

Weflen said he's sold 750 St. Joseph statues in the past five months.

"Generally, the people who come in for this, that is what they come in here for," Weflen said. "A lot of times, they're almost embarrassed."

But Weflen and his colleague know what they want.

"'You need a St. Joseph statue to sell a house?' And all of a sudden they have a big look of relief on their face," Weflen said.

"It's sort of like a little insurance policy," Boynton said.

Some say the statue must be buried upside down; others say it must be pointed in a certain direction. The instruction manual inside the box says it doesn't matter how the statue is buried, as long as the user has faith.