With the economy the way it is today, and people opting for the less expensive cremation method of body disposal, the demand for cemetery plots and mausoleums is lower than it has been in years. It is a buyer's market and those who want to sell plots are not finding buyers who are biting.

Robert Fells, an attorney for the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association in Sterling, Virginia works for a group that represents more than 7,400 cemeteries, funeral homes, crematoriums and other death care service providers in America. Fells stated, "People are buying less burial property. There's a growing surplus."

Wayne T. Price and Jeff Schweers reported in USA Today about Clinton and Janet Lemons who have been trying, for the last year, to sell their two cemetery plots they bought in Titusville, Florida, 32 years ago after deciding they preferred to be buried in a family plot in their native West Virginia. The couple cannot find buyers. Bought for $1,500 in 1978, the Lemons only ask for a negotiable price of $4,000 and they cannot get it. Clinton Lemons, 82, stated, "We're not trying to get rich. We're just trying to get rid of the lots. It's kind of like trying to sell a home."

The national average for plots now is approximately $3,500, according to Baron Chu, a secondary seller of plots and owner of plotbrokers.com in Southern California. Chu has a listing of 1,000 plots on any given day. He stated, "People sell their plots because they need the money. We have a lot more supply than demand."

John Ross, president of the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) stared that a major reason that there are so many plots for sale that are not being sold is because people, due to their limited financial situations, are choosing cremation over traditional burials. Fells stated, "Other factors include the high cost of caskets, plots and burials, continued economic unease, environmental concerns and changing religious attitudes about final disposition. There is definitely a cause and effect between the cremation increase and the drop in cemetery plot sales."

According to data compiled by CANA, "Cremation was the choice in 32% of the 2.5 million deaths across the USA in 2007, a bump up from 29.5% in 2003,. Estimates for 2008 show a probable increase to 36%, Ross said. That number is likely to jump to 44% by 2015." This and further information can be found on the CANA website.

Written by KC Kelly, Ph.D