Let us pray

For six bucks on Amazon you can get a three-inch-high Saint Joseph statue. Resin, so the bugs won’t eat it when buried.

Or, get the complete SJ kit for ten dollars more. It comes with a lovely prayer card and a handy drawstring bag. “The Saint Joseph Statue for Home Sales carries profound religious symbolism, representing hope and prosperity,” says one vendor. “It serves as an essential spiritual companion for real estate professionals, aiding in the swift and devout sale of properties.”

Actually there are dozens of Saint Joe statues and kits available (delivery tomorrow in urban areas), and Amazon says it’s selling hundreds a month, Homeowners are burying these things, upside down, on their listed properties with the head pointed at the front door. Realtors have been tucking them inside those hollow plastic signs they plant on a lawn.

Here’s the handy prayer that will help you find a buyer, hopefully with cash and no conditions…

While some religious folk worry about using an effigy of the father of Jesus as a talisman and part of the MLS marketing process, tons of people still do it. Especially now when buyers are few and far between, with asking prices falling and DOM ticking higher.

The practice is apparently six hundred years old, embedded in folk lore and has morphed into the realm of superstition. Planting an upside-down plastic sacrilegious holy thing to attract an offer on your house? Seriously. It’s a thing. Millions do it. Even scarier, so do real estate ‘professionals’. So if a slightly-soiled Joe falls out of your For Sale sign, it might be time to get a new realtor.

This may be news as mortgage rates tick higher and markets rolls over. Last week major lenders upped the price of their five-year, fixed-rate home loans, reflecting a yield surge in the bond market last month. In te past few weeks those mortgages have bumped from just below 4% (for qualified borrowers) to almost 4.5%. Refis and uninsured loans are higher now, close to 4.7%. All of the major banks have quietly been heaping on the basis points.

Variables, on the other hand, have been staying put. As mentioned days ago here, the spread is about 1% between fixed (safe, predictable, stable, more costly) and VRM (floating, volatile, unpredictable, cheaper). That’s because fixed rates are based on the return of a five-year Government of Canada bond – where yields have jumped with all other debt – and variables, hooked to the banks’ prime rate.

That, in turn, is linked to the Bank of Canada rate – now stuck at 2.25% and set to stay there once again next week when the cost of money is reviewed in Ottawa.

This morning’s inflation rate announcement pretty much cements it. The CPI ticked a little higher, to 3.1%, which was not too scary given the jump in gas last month. Gasoline aside, consumer prices increased by an acceptable 2.2% in September, close enough to the CB’s target. Food was up by less – 1.7%. Shelter costs were ahead 1.8%.

Compared to the U.S. where inflation is closing in on 4% and mortgages are 7.5%, this is not too shabby.

“Today’s number supports our view that the Bank of Canada can remain on hold this year.,” say economists at TD. “There is little evidence higher energy costs are bleeding through to broader price pressures, which remain mild. On top of that, the Canadian economy faces downside risks due to tariffs and the volatile trade relationship with the U.S., a relatively soft job market, and now higher bond yields. We expect the combination of these forces will lead the Bank to stay on the sidelines this year.”

Not everyone agrees, of course. Some analysts think the BoC could be left holding the bag next year as inflation marches higher, thanks to the Iran war, Trump’s infatuation with Vlad Putin and intense political volatility in the US following the midterms. Mr. Bond Market would not be happy.

“Why is the policy rate at the lower bound of the neutral rate range and zero if not negative in real terms?” asks Scotia’s Derek Holt, in arguing for rate hikes. “If the BoC is serious about its inflation target, then it has some work to do.”

Indeed. It still looks likely fixed-rate mortgages will be 5% in the new year, with variables trotting along behind. And, once again, Canada could have a hellish spring market – at least bedevilling sellers and their feckless agents.

So, let us pray.

“May our journey toward a sale be blessed with trust, mutual understanding, and a smooth transaction.”

Or you can stay down there, Joe. Your choice.

About the picture: “This is Ruckle and his sister Lola,” writes Margaret. “They both have blue eyes.” (Yes, that’s all she wrote…)

To be in tpoiuch or send a picture of your beast, email to ‘garth@garth.ca’.

Source: https://www.greaterfool.ca/2026/10/19/let-us-pray-2/