Are Sears kit homes valuable?
Most of them were priced from about $725 to $2,500, although some of the larger models like the Verona sold for more than $4,000.
How many Sears kit homes still exist?
What is this? Sears is estimated to have sold about 70,000 of their home building kits from 1908-1940 and it’s currently estimated that about 70% of the original Sears homes built from kits are still standing today. The houses made it as far as Alaska and Canada, as the parts were delivered by railroad.
How do I know if my house is a Sears kit?
Look for stamped lumber in the basement, attic or crawlspace. Sears Modern Homes were kit homes and the framing pieces were stamped with a letter and a number. When the lumber arrived on site, that number told you how all the pieces went together.
Can I still buy a Sears kit home?
Available in a variety of styles and at a range of price points, these “kit houses” would arrive via railroad boxcar as precut and fitted materials, which the owner or a local contractor would assemble into a new house. Sears ceased production of their catalog homes in 1940, but many still stand today.
When did Sears stop selling kit houses?
“In the 1930s, during the Depression, the housing market took a sharp downturn, and by 1940, Sears stopped selling kit homes, as many people had lost their jobs and defaulted on their loans.”
What years did Sears sell house kits?
From 1908 until 1940, Sears, Roebuck and Co. sold over 70,000 kit houses through their Modern Homes and Honor Bilt catalogs. Designs for 370 different plans ranged from the elaborate to the simple; the ‘Goldenrod’, for example, was a three-room vacation cottage (no bath, out-house separate).
Why did Sears stop making homes?
Sears stopped the mortgage program in 1934 as a result of the Great Depression. The Modern Homes program itself ended in 1940, undone by loan defaults and pre-World War II shortages of building materials.
When did Sears sell kit homes?
Sears barely exists as a retailer any more, but homeowners still adore the “kit” houses it fabricated and shipped across America from 1908 to 1940.
What year did Sears stop selling houses?
1940
Sears, Roebuck and Company’s Modern Homes program began in 1908 and ended in 1940. During those years, about 75,000 well-designed, well-constructed and economical houses were sold to American families.
What were Sears houses called?
No wonder Sears kit houses became known as “the American dream in a box.” Or, less grandly, “bungalows in a box.” Kits, containing what some experts estimated at tens of thousands of pieces, were delivered in stages to the railroad station nearest the building site.
When did Sears stop selling house kits?
Sears houses, sold in kits and delivered to your local railroad station, were the biggest and most ambitious product offered by the company that sold everything via a catalog. Sears, Roebuck and Company’s Modern Homes program began in 1908 and ended in 1940.
Why did Sears stop selling kit homes?
When did Sears start selling kit homes?
Year built: Thornton points out that while Sears sold Building materials as early as in the 1895 Sears and Roebuck Company catalog, pre-cut “kit” residential homes were sold between 1908 – 1940.
How many houses did Sears Roebuck build in 1920?
One House or a Hundred. Sears, Roebuck and Company, Chicago, Illinois. 1920. NTL FOLIO TH4819.P7S435 1920 A Plan Book of Harris Homes. Harris Brothers Company, Chicago, Illinois. 1918.
How many homes did Sears sell between 1908 and 1940?
Sears reported that more than 70,000 of these homes were sold in North America between 1908 and 1940. More than 370 different home designs in a wide range of architectural styles and sizes were offered over the program’s 33-year history.
What are the different types of Sears kit homes?
Sears Standard-Bilt Kit Homes: were a more economical line of kit houses (see Honor-Bilt above) and were less insulated. “Simplex Sectional” homes were a still simpler home design sold by Sears. Sterling Kit Homes: Bay City Michigan.