--- title: Reddit Is Losing It Over These Crazy Cheap DIY Houses Sears Sold 100 Years Ago description: A century ago, Sears sold materials and plans for homes under $700. An old ad recently surfaced on Reddit, fascinating DIYers interested in cheaper housing. authors: - name: Brad Tuttle role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/ bio: Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals. education: Columbia University School of Journalism, MS at_money_since: 2014 articles: 366 covers: - Housing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle - https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225 former_staff: true published: '2017-03-14T19:08:41.000Z' modified: '2024-04-17T05:26:13.000Z' section: Housing tags: - Buying a House - House Prices - housing - nostalgia - Sears - shop money word_count: 386 canonical: https://money.com/sears-roebuck-catalog-house-reddit/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Modern Home No.147, available from Sears for $872 in 1913](https://img.money.com/2017/03/170304_rea_sears_home.jpg?crop=133px%2C99px%2C721px%2C406px&quality=85) *Sears sold a variety of plans and materials for houses, including Modern Home No.147, available for $872 in 1913.* A century ago, the typical American's salary was [$687 per year](http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2015/01/02/a-glimpse-at-your-expenses-100-years-ago). That might not sound like much—after factoring in inflation, it's about $16,500 in today's dollars—but it was more than enough to buy a house. Well, it was more than enough to cover the *materials for a house* anyway. Back then, the starting price of a house from Sears, Roebuck & Company, which shipped home components in parts that would have to be assembled by buyers, was only $659. That's the equivalent of $16,164.74 today. A recent [Reddit post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Frugal/comments/5z93q7/if_only_new_houses_were_still_so_cheap_just/) pointed out this amazing historical tidbit, along with a link showing an ad from the Sears Modern Home Catalog circa 1913-1917. Decades ago, Sears sold the plans and materials to [dozens and dozens of different house](http://www.searsarchives.com/homes/bydate.htm) styles, including the Modern Home No. 229 that surfaced on Reddit. According to the century-old ad, the $659 price covered all the lumber, lath, flooring, roof, pipes, cedar shingles, paint, and other materials needed to build a five-room bungalow, featuring two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a front porch. The Reddit post received more than 500 comments a mere 14 hours after being published with the headline "If only new houses were still so cheap!" While many commenters pointed out people today are frustrated because our ancestors "were able to have so much, at such little cost," others highlighted that the ad—and the price—are a bit misleading. What's easily overlooked is that the "house" doesn't come with a foundation, heat, or electricity, nor does the price include land to build on. Some Redditors surmised that the basic cost of materials for building a similar 700-square-foot home today actually might not be that different, after inflation, than what Sears was charging a century ago. The [tiny houses](https://time.com/130959/tiny-houses-with-big-ambitions/) that have become popular in recent years, which cost as little as $20,000 for materials (or [$86,500](https://consumerist.com/2012/03/02/now-you-can-buy-an-entire-house-from-ikea-for-86500/) for a modern 745-square-foot home from IKEA), are good comparisons to the old Sears catalog homes. For what it's worth, folks who are curious about the seemingly cheap DIY homes of a century ago can readily buy vintage books featuring [Sears' Modern Homes](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0486452646/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=money018f-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0486452646&linkId=e57be102f66f7ea9b0d5fb95ea14aa44) (circa 1913), popular Sears' [house designs of the 1930s](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A62Y3KU/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=money018f-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00A62Y3KU&linkId=f0fbd798737acd9939a786ee6b03cf84), and illustrated catalogs of [home building supplies](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0486263207/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=money018f-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0486263207&linkId=0d84050c8c8d1fb43dd84c66b7d8e187) from 1910. *We’ve included affiliate links in this article. 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