Sears 'Dream House' Hits the Market

Between 1908 and 1940, Sears, Roebuck & Co. sold approximately 100,000 homes through their mail-order Modern Homes program. 

It was a revolution in American home building; middle class families were able to pick from 447 designs to suit their individual needs. The homeowner could even submit their own plans to Sears, and would then receive all the instructions, materials and hardware needed. It gave many families creative control over building their dream home.

The kit would arrive at the local train station with everything the family carpenter needed—you can imagine how excited folks were when they went to that train depot to see their new house arrive.

The process would begin when the Modern Homes catalog arrived at your doorstep. Families would choose a style based on their needs and pocket book—and overtime, Sears created three lines to suit each familes' financial budget and needs. The "Honor Bilt" was their most expensive and finest quality.; the "Standard Bilt" and "Simplex Sectional" lines were meant for more modest budgets and simpler needs.

Sears was able to mass produce these home building kits, which lessened manufacturing costs and lowered costs for purchasers. Sears claimed that their kits would cut carpenter hours from 583 hours down to 352—or decrease workloads by around 40 percent.

Today, I am proud to announce that I have been given the honor of representing the current owners of our featured home: The Van Jean at 268 South Boulevard in Upper Grandview. This "Honor Bilt" home is priced at $795,000 and offers so much of that character and charm of that bygone era of American home building.

The owners have had their home certified by Sears Archives, which entailed a thorough inspection of the home and cross referencing serial numbers from roof rafters in the attic. Knowing the owners personally, I can say that they have lovingly cared for this home and have taken as much pride in the ownership of it as the very first family likely did when they picked up the home at the local rail yard. 

For a video tour, click here.

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On the local real estate front, the area did have an influx of new inventory.  There were 10 New Listings this week including our featured Sears Dutch Colonial home. On the sales side, only one property went Under Contract, however we did have 4 properties Transfer Title. 

With that, here are the listings:

New Listing:

79 Sierra Vista Lane, Valley Cottage        $143,700

2 West Lawrence Park, Piermont             $197,500

5 West Lawrence Park, Piermont             $249,000

12 Jeffrey Court, West Nyack                  $409,000

5 Robin Lane, West Nyack                       $549,000

268 South Boulevard, Upper Grandview   $795,000

12 Riverton Drive, Upper Nyack               $899,000

10 Aberdeen Drive, West Nyack               $949,000

177 Tweed Boulevard, Piermont               $2,800,000

Under Contract:               List price/ Days on Market

32 Sparkill Ave, Tappan                          $399,000/ 155 DOM

Title Transfer:   Sold Price/ Days on Market/ % of Orig. list price

4 West Lawrence Park, Piermont      $187,500/ 158 DOM/ 83%

30 Second Ave, Nyack                    $335,000/ 150 DOM/ 67%

51 Conklin Ave, Tappan                  $345,000/ 41 DOM/ 97%

197 No. Midland, Nyack                 $360,000/ 35 DOM/ 96%

Please feel free to leave comments and questions. For more photos and information, please visit my website.