5. Sears sold houses, which led to their entry into the financial markets
Beginning in 1908 and continuing until 1940, it was possible to order a house from the Sears catalog, with the disassembled house delivered to the purchaser’s lot. Over the course of Sears’ participation in the housing market, they offered over 370 different designs, in a wide variety of sizes and styles, which included all or most of the modern conveniences which evolved with the twentieth century. Nor was Sears the only company to offer homes by catalog sales, several others, including Sears’ competitor Montgomery Ward (Wardway) entered the business. Most of the home kits included heating and lighting systems, as well as all the necessary supplies to plumb them, including connections to water and where applicable sewage lines.
The kits were designed to be delivered by rail to a site as near to the new owner as possible and trucked or carted from there to the building site. Sears eventually offered building assistance where necessary, often through the hiring of local contractors, and several contractors purchased the kits and built the houses before offering them for sale. On most of their homes, Sears did not offer the cement and concrete necessary for foundations, nor finishing brick. They did offer financing to qualified owners of lots on which the house was to be erected, with terms ranging from five to fifteen years beginning in 1912. The Great Depression led to many defaults and nearly bankrupted the company, leading them to drop offering mortgages in 1934.