Why did Sears Kit Homes FAIL?

Sears kit homes were popular in the early part of the 20th century. Learn all about these mail-ordered, catalog homes as we explore their unique history in North America.

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Public Domain Photos from: Library of Congress,
CC BY 2.0 Photos from: Flickr User: how_long_it_takes,Jonathunder, w_lemay, Ben Chun
CC BY-SA 3.0Photos from: Wikipedia User: AbeEzekowitz, Ra Boe, Riverview Homes Inc, Dr Zak, H. Raab, Ulises Palermo, Michael A. Orlando
CC BY-SA 4.0 Photos from: Wikipedia User: Cavajunky, Prestige Homeseeker , Cullen328
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[knitnutconnie]

My maternal grandparents built a 1920 Sears home in Windsor Ontario. They went to Detroit Michigan to order and choose everything they wanted. It crossed the Detroit River by train tunnel, then was delivered to the 5 acre lot by truck. It was sold in 1988. It remains, after several updates….as I check it out every so many years. It is a solid home.

[anye]

I'd take a Sears Roebuck & Co house right now over these sawdust particleboard McMansions that cost over $480K

[christianfournier]

We need a modern day program like this.

[claireburkus]

My first home in 1973 was a beautiful Sears home!!! Still standing proudly in Gleside Gardens, Pennsylvania! We were given all the order information and paperwork and proudly passed it on to the next family!!

[curiousworld]

I lived in a Sears kit house for several years (a four-bedroom bungalow), and loved it. It was beautifully detailed, using high-quality materials, and was simply a lovely house.

[everkief]

I don't believe that Sears Kit Homes actually "failed." They succeeded brilliantly during their time on the market during a very DIY era and were later replaced by more modern DIY options, as the video shows. Additionally, look at all the people in the comments that own or owned one of these houses. They are all proud of the fact. That's a great success considering its 100 since Sears started selling kit homes. About ten years ago, when finishing my history degree I went on a Sears Kit Home search in my home town. There were well over a dozen that I was able to find, so I'm sure there were many more, temporarily lost to history until the day someone starts a renovation, finds a number burned into a large beam and calls their local history museum to ask "what is this?" Their eyes will open to a vast world of discovery. Definitely not a failure!

[MHGL]

In 1953, my grandfather bought and built an Aladdin kit house. Lived in it till the day he died. My grandmother remained there until she no longer could. Thankfully, the house is still in the family.

[jimhagan]

Bring that program BACK, it's a great idea that we need right now!

[EclecticDD]

From the images I've seen in movies and TV shows those houses are so cute/pretty when well painted.

[Julia-zjch]

I owned and lived in a "Sears house" for 22 years. It was actually from a company called Aladdin that was just like the Sears catalogue. Ours was the Plaza model. We couldn't find out for certain the year it was built, but we think about 1912. Sadly, we no longer live there. It is a gorgeous, California bungalow style with stone foundation and pillars. Deep eaves and wide front porch. I love that house deeply and miss it terribly. It is in State College, Pennsylvania.

[jamesellsworth]

My wife's first home purchase was a Craftsman home from Sears. It was solidly constructed.

[vivaldi]

Years ago Jean Sheppard, "A Christmas Story", had a weekly show on PBS radio. One week he told the story of a family in a small midwestern town he lived in that had ordered a Sears Kit Home. The entire town turned out. It's a very funny story but I haven't been able to find it on the internet. Thank you for including this.

[gimpygardner]

I own a 1939 Sears Starlight. (Rental property) It is a very well designed home for both space and strength. I was an electrician and worked in a lot of attics, and I'm a big guy. The floor of the attic in my Sears house doesn't move when I'm up there.

[trolleychai]

My father grew up in a Sears kit home in Yonkers, New York, one of the first ones built (his parents bought it when it was less than ten years old).

[carcar]

Glad you took the time and effort to present this the way you did, Ken. Many of the Sears kits as you mentioned really have stood the test of time. The newest pre-fab homes are truly sturdy and outstanding. I still may consider one. They are tanks compared to the earlier single and double wide manufactured home.

[monwell]

I’m sitting in a sears home. It’s over 100 years old. How did they fail? The program changed mostly due to government regulations not due to kit homes. I wish we could buy sears home style kits and not just “build packs” from a big box store.

[francisjohnson]

My goddaughter and her husband lived in one of these houses. It was beautiful. 👍👍

[pamelachristie]

Friends of mine used to live in a stunning Victorian-style home in Pasadena, CA, complete with a tower and stained glass windows. You'd never guess it had been made from a Sears kit over 100 years ago. Probably worth millions today.

[lawrencelewis]

I owned a Sears home in Poughkeepsie, New York from 1983 to 1995. Built in 1930, it was a simple, boxy structure with 2 bedrooms on a long narrow lot. There were others on my street and quite a few around town.

[jecny]

What killed the Sears mail order homes? World War II and the strict wartime rationing. Almost all construction projects had to be approved by various government agencies as essential to the war effort. On a side note; I live in a prefab and am quite happy.