Sears kit house for sale in Southold
This Southold house was built from a kit sold by Sears & Roebuck catalogue early in the 20th century. This on the market for $550,000. Credit: Handout
From 1908 to 1940 -- long before the World Wide Web -- home buyers could shop for a house in a Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalog. Sears, which sold more than 100,000 houses, offered about 450 styles — from small cottages priced at less than $500 to a Georgian mansion for more than $5,000, according to company archives.
Some of those houses -- including this Chelsea model in Southold listed for $550,000 -- are right here on Long Island. (It’s unclear how many kit homes were built here.)
The eight-room house, constructed in 1915, features original moldings, pocket doors, windows, wainscoting and a claw-foot tub, says Carol Bohn, an independent broker in Peconic who is marketing the house. There are even moldings inside the closets.
“The house is in move-in condition,” Bohn says, noting it has updated stainless-steel appliances and a renovated basement. Set on one acre with a new horse barn, the house also has four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a walk-up granny attic with a door and enough height to allow standing.
