DULUTH, Minn. (AP) - A Duluth family is trying an unorthodox way to overcome the slump in the housing market.

Katie McKinnon and her fiancee, Jacob Farkas, are seeking someone to swap houses with them. They want to trade their two-bedroom for a three-bedroom of equal or lesser value so there will be room for their growing family.

The couple have two daughters, and McKinnon is pregnant with twin boys due in March.

"It would be great if it would work out," McKinnon said. "You never know if you don't ask."

The couple have taken out an ad in the Duluth News Tribune to find a match.

But Pat Johnson, owner of Focus Real Estate Group LLC, said she'll be surprised if they get one.

"I've heard about it once in a while," Johnson said. "It's a matter of chance. It's, 'I like your home,' and then, 'I like your home.' That doesn't happen very often."

House swaps also are rare because of mortgage complications, Johnson said.

"Mortgage companies won't let you swap mortgages like they used to in the 1970s or '80s," Johnson said. "Now there is a qualification process."

McKinnon, a day care worker, and Farkas, a chef, have a monthly mortgage payment of $1,000.

They paid $126,000 for their home in 2006 but say the downturn in the real estate market means it's now worth only about $110,000. That makes swapping seem like a better option than selling.

McKinnon said she's willing to take on a fixer-upper or move outside of Duluth.