HGTV Sweepstakes in 2024: An Overview
If you’re seeking relatable stories, entertainment, and aspirational home and lifestyle content, HGTV is for you. HGTV (Home & Garden Television) is an American television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, as noted by Wikipedia.
HGTV provides a top cable network to 77 million US households and a popular website that attracts an average of 9.6 million people monthly.
They have a social footprint of 28 million, with a self-titled monthly magazine publication that reaches more than one million readers. You will also find exclusive collections of home-oriented products through their consumer products line.
The channel is a reality show related to home improvement and real estate. Not only that, in 1997, the creation of the annual sweepstakes called HGTV Dream Home Giveaway was born.
Affectionately known as HGTV sweepstakes, it’s estimated that 82.2% of households with television received HGTV in 2015. That’s approximately 95,628,000 American households!
That means there are many potential grand prize winners, with only one grand prize to compete for. In this guide to HGTV sweepstakes, we aim to help you enter and win the sweep in July 2024!
HGTV Sweepstakes Key Facts
- The HGTV Dream Home Giveaway is a significant part of the HGTV Sweepstakes, which began in 1997.
- Each year’s HGTV Dream Home Sweepstakes winner receives the home, the artwork and furnishings inside the house, a big cash prize, and a new vehicle.
- Sometimes, additional prizes, like a doggie dream home for pets or a new boat for waterfront properties, are also included.
- The total prize value routinely reaches $2 million or more.
- The cumulative value of all prizes typically ranges between two and three million dollars.
- The recipient of each year’s sweepstake claims ownership of the house and inherits all its contents, from the furnishings to the artwork and everything in between.
- Over the years, HGTV has conducted numerous sweepstakes. For instance, the HGTV Dream Home Giveaway has been conducted annually since 1997, marking over 25 years of giveaways.
What are HGTV Sweepstakes?
HGTV Dream Home Giveaway is a sweepstake that has run successfully every year since 1997 and has provided many winners with dream homes.
HGTV uses a special TV series, Dream Home, to showcase an impressive new home that its experts have built. Then, they give it away to one lucky contestant.
Since its conception in ’97, the sweepstake has become one of America’s biggest and most popular giveaways.
The network also launched two adjacent sweepstakes, the cutting-edge HGTV Smart Home sweepstakes in 2008 (formerly Green Home) and the HGTV Urban Oasis sweepstakes in 2010, giving away homes with killer city skyline views.
Its sister network, DIY, offers another kind of sweepstakes, the Ultimate Retreat giveaway, formerly known as Blog Cabin.
How Do You Get on the HGTV Home Giveaway?
To go live on air, you have to be the winner of the HGTV home giveaway. To do this, you must first enter the giveaway!
Dream Home sweeps are typically open to entries for seven weeks, during which you can enter twice daily for a chance to win.
You must enter the giveaway daily for a chance to win the grand prize package, usually worth a few million dollars. We will let you know where to enter this guide, so stay tuned.
To begin the giveaway entry process, look for an announcement toward the end of each year to find out when the HGTV giveaway starts!
The giveaway rules can change yearly, but here are some things you must know:
- Entry is open to United States residents; you must be at least 21.
- You can enter the draw every day, and sometimes, you can rack up extra entries by entering through partner websites and referring friends.
- In addition to the online entry form, you can also enter the HGTV giveaway by mail. Unlike the online application process, you can enter your information via post as frequently as possible.
It might seem too good to be true to get more entries by mail, and in some ways, it may be! Some websites have reported this as a loophole for manipulation, but this option has disadvantages.
Bonus Tip: Some people choose to help their entries stand out by decorating their envelopes. However, this doesn’t guarantee that you’ll win!
HGTV showcased several beautifully decorated envelopes they received in a blog post from their 2016 winner draw. Unfortunately, they didn’t disclose whether one of them was the winner!
5 Steps to Win HGTV Sweepstakes
Here are 5 steps to help you enter and maximize your chances of winning the HGTV sweepstakes!
1. Follow HGTV
You should follow HGTV on Instagram and Facebook, as they frequently announce giveaways!
2. Subscribe to HGTV
You can sign up to receive email reminders from HGTV. These reminders will ensure you don’t miss your chance to enter the HGTV dream home giveaways.
3. Apply on HGTV
All you need to do to apply for the dream home giveaway is to fill out the official entry form! For the full official rules and prize disclosures and to enter, visit the official website.
You will be asked for your details, including your full name, email address, phone number, address, and date of birth. Visit the HGTV website to find out more.
4. Enter Daily!
Once you’ve signed up, you can enter the giveaway daily to win the grand prize. You can enter once daily at HGTV.com and once at FoodNetwork.com.
5. Eligibility Requirements
You must be a US resident to enter this giveaway. If you’re located elsewhere, the websites will inform you you’re not eligible to enter.
Bonus Tip: Tune into HGTV’s channel to stay updated about their giveaways! You can watch HGTV HD on channel 229.
The HGTV Dream Home Prizes
Not only do Dream Home winners receive an incredible house prize, but they also receive a whole prize package, including cash, a vehicle, and more amazing prizes. The total of all prizes is between two and three million dollars.
Each year’s sweepstakes winner receives the house and its contents, such as the furnishings, artwork, and everything inside their new home.
Some additional prizes are included, such as dream homes for pets or boats for waterfront properties. Whatever the prizes, their value usually reaches at least two million dollars.
In recent years, winners have been given the option of choosing a generous cash prize instead of their dream home.
If the winner doesn’t choose the house, they receive the aforementioned additional prizes instead, but HGTV retains the rights to the home.
How Does HGTV Notify Winners?
One of the main questions on every entrant’s mind is, how will you know if you’ve won? This is a fun part of the process and could have you live on the air!
HGTV typically ambushes its winners, aiming to surprise them! The channel recruits family and friends to help set up a surprise, during which they announce and film the winner’s reaction.
If you’re curious to see more about the winner selection process and how HGTV selects a winner among millions of online and mail entries, you can find out more on HGTV’s winner announcement page (so long as you’re in the US).
Out of millions of entries, just one grand prize winner will be selected randomly out of all eligible entries HGTV received during the promotion period.
Winners will also be contacted via phone or email! Within five days of issuance, the winner must return an affidavit of eligibility to HGTV, a non-disclosure agreement, and a release of liability and publicity to claim the prize.
Can you Sell the HGTV House if You Win?
To answer the question, yes, you can sell your dream home if you win it. It’s worth mentioning that even if you win the HGTV dream home, you likely won’t live in it!
While the luxurious designs entice prospective new homeowners, most dream homes are impractical for families or individuals.
Many dream homes are too large for most individuals and families, with disadvantageously high taxes, utility bills, and other costs to pay for.
In particular, taxes on grand prizes worth millions of dollars prevent some people from accepting them.
When it became clear that sweepstakes winners could not move into or keep their new homes, HGTV offered them a cash option.
Approximately 30% of people lived in their homes for over a year (as of 2018). Most took the cash alternative or sold the house within a year of winning.
Don Cruz, one lucky winner in 2005, decided to sell his home but had a fantastic experience when he owned it and made lifelong friends there.
If you accept that you will sell the house or take a cash option, you can walk away with thousands of dollars in prizes and the experience of a lifetime.
HGTV Sweepstakes: Final Thoughts
HGTV giveaways are one surefire way to get a one-in-a-lifetime experience, whether you decide to keep your new giveaway home prize or not.
As you’ve just learned, there’s not only one HGTV grand prize to win but many additional prizes to be won. If you love free giveaway prizes, follow us on our website, Giveaway Listing for more freebies.
If you enjoyed this giveaway guide, we think you will love our Omaze giveaway guide. Also, check us out on social media, where you will find the latest regularly updated giveaway lists!
HGTV Sweepstakes FAQs
Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about HGTV Sweepstakes.
Are HGTV Giveaways Real?
Yes, they’re real! But some say they’re too good to be true, as the prizes come with high taxes. HGTV’s experts scour America yearly for the correct setting to build the latest Dream Home.
Once the house is constructed, HGTV offers it as a prize for their giveaways.
Why Can’t I Enter the HGTV Sweepstakes?
You might find that ad blockers prevent you from entering the HGTV sweepstakes! To rectify that, turn the ad-blocking function off to enter the sweepstakes successfully.
On another note, you may want to visit the rules and regulations information page to ensure you are eligible to enter.
If you try to re-enter after you realize what you did wrong and still can’t, try clearing your browser’s cache and cookies and submitting the form again.
Do You Get Paid to be on HGTV?
Put plainly, you don’t get paid to be on HGTV. While HGTV doesn’t address payment in their application process, they do note that homeowners must have a renovation budget of $100,000.
This requirement has grown as it used to be $50,000 and then $75,000.
How Many People Enter the HGTV Giveaway?
HGTV’s annual sweepstakes began in 1997 with a house being given away in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Every year since its beginning, one lucky winner is chosen out of millions of entries.
In 1998, there were 2.5 million entries; in 2016, there were approximately 127 million entries! It’s still going strong and growing. In 2022, there were 142 million entries.
What is the Cash Prize for HGTV’s Dream Home?
The grand prize winners of the HGTV dream home (in 2023) will have the option of receiving $750,000 in cash (the “cash option”).
