What Happened to HGTV Dream Home Winners

HGTV Dream Home winners walk away with a multimillion-dollar house, a new car, and a cash bonus — and then almost all of them face the same decision within a matter of months. The prize is taxed as income the year it’s awarded, and the bill arrives long before any of that value turns into spendable money. Most winners have chosen to sell or take cash instead.

That pattern is not a rumor. It shows up in HGTV’s own winner announcements, in county property records, in news reporting from CNBC and local outlets, and in one well-documented foreclosure. Of the first 21 Dream Home recipients, only six lived in the house for more than a year, according to reporting on the giveaway’s history.

This is the real story of what happened to HGTV Dream Home winners — who kept the house, who sold it, who took the cash, and the one family whose dream home ended up at auction. Every name, date, and dollar figure below comes from official sponsor announcements, property records, or major news reporting.

What HGTV Dream Home Winners Actually Receive

The grand prize is a package, not just a house. For HGTV Dream Home 2026, the official sweepstakes rules list a fully furnished home in Charlotte, North Carolina, valued at approximately $2,348,933, plus $100,000 in cash — an advertised retail value of $2,448,933.

The rules also spell out the alternative. A winner may decline title to the house and instead receive $750,000 by electronic funds transfer, keeping the $100,000 cash prize, for a total advertised value of $850,000. The rules state plainly that all taxes, fees, and expenses tied to the grand prize are the winner’s sole responsibility.

That cash option is the single most important line in the rules, and it explains most of what follows.

Why the Tax Bill Changes Everything

The IRS treats a sweepstakes prize as ordinary income. IRS Publication 525 states that if you win a prize in a lucky number drawing, a television or radio quiz program, or a similar event, you must include it in your income — and if the prize is property rather than cash, you include its fair market value.

Applied to a house, that means the full appraised value lands on the winner’s return for the year of the win. CNBC reported in March 2019 that the federal and state tax burden on that year’s $2.3 million Dream Home package came to an estimated $907,677.

Property taxes, insurance, utilities, and upkeep on a multimillion-dollar house then continue every year afterward. Reporting on the giveaway has repeatedly identified that combination — a large one-time income tax bill plus ongoing carrying costs — as the reason HGTV Dream Home winners so often sell.

Tax outcomes depend entirely on a person’s own income, state, and filing situation. Anyone facing a real prize should take those questions to the IRS or a licensed tax professional.

The 2005 Winner: Don Cruz and the Lake Tyler Foreclosure

The most documented case is Don Cruz, who won the 2005 HGTV Dream Home on Lake Tyler in Texas. Unlike most winners, Cruz and his family actually moved in.

He tried to make the house pay for itself. According to published reports, he proposed renting out the dockhouse and master suite on a nightly basis, but the city government of Tyler, Texas rejected the plan. He also received tax paperwork showing the home was valued higher than he had understood.

Cruz took out a mortgage on the property in 2006. After falling four months behind on payments, his mortgage company began foreclosure proceedings. News reports at the time described the family as roughly $1.43 million in debt by January 2008, with contributing factors including medical bills for his wife’s brain surgery and his father’s cancer, and a business plan that did not work out.

The house went to auction and sold in January 2008 for $1.3 million. In interviews afterward, Cruz said he did not regret moving into the home despite the debt it left behind.

What Recent HGTV Dream Home Winners Did With the Prize

The recent record is more straightforward, and it is mostly a record of selling or cashing out.

Marie Fratta of Hawthorne, New York — a fourth-grade teacher with 25 years in the classroom — won the 2024 HGTV Dream Home on Anastasia Island near St. Augustine, Florida. HGTV announced she was drawn from roughly 130 million entries, making her the first New Yorker to win since the giveaway launched in 1997.

Fratta took title to the roughly 3,300-square-foot, three-bedroom waterfront house rather than the cash. She did not relocate from New York. Florida property records show the home sold on September 4, 2024, for $2 million.

Tricia Smith, a math and science special education teacher in the Bronx, won HGTV Dream Home 2025 in Bluffton, South Carolina. According to HGTV’s announcement distributed via PR Newswire, the package topped $2.2 million and included a 2025 Mercedes-Benz GLC and $100,000 from Viva. She was drawn from more than 118 million entries in a sweepstakes that ran December 17, 2024 through February 14, 2025.

Beverly Fulkerson, a former preschool teacher from Osgood, Indiana, won the 2019 home in Whitefish, Montana — a package valued at more than $2.3 million, drawn from nearly 135 million entries, and the largest giveaway in HGTV history at that time.

The HGTV Dream Home Winners Who Took the Money Instead

Several HGTV Dream Home winners skipped the house entirely, and they said why.

Kathy O’Dell, the 2015 winner, took the cash option. She told reporters there was no way her family could front the nearly $1 million tax bill attached to the prize package.

Anna Spangler of Kutztown, Pennsylvania won the 2017 coastal farmhouse on St. Simons Island, Georgia. She and her husband opted for the cash payout, reported at roughly $1 million, rather than taking the home.

Laura Martin of Boise, Idaho won the 2014 Dream Home, a mountain house near Lake Tahoe, and also chose the cash rather than the property.

These were not failures. They were winners reading the official rules, doing the arithmetic, and picking the option that fit their finances.

The One Who Held On Longest

Not every story ends in a quick sale. According to HGTV, the 1998 winner kept the Dream Home for about eight years before selling — the longest run among the first 21 winners.

An HGTV spokesperson, Emily Yarborough, told reporters the eventual reason for the sale was personal rather than financial: the winner’s parents had gotten too old to travel and could no longer visit as often as the family would have liked.

It stands out precisely because it is rare. Reporting on the first 21 HGTV Dream Home winners found only about 28 percent lived in the house for more than a year.

What Winners Can Learn From This

The documented record points to a few consistent facts. Prize property is taxed at fair market value in the year it is awarded, per IRS Publication 525. The official sweepstakes rules assign every tax, fee, and expense to the winner. And the rules themselves offer a cash alternative — $750,000 plus the $100,000 cash prize for the 2026 giveaway.

The outcomes among HGTV Dream Home winners have varied widely: sold within months, sold years later, cash taken up front, and in the 2005 case, foreclosure. What separated them was not luck but the size of the tax obligation relative to each household’s own finances.

If a prize win affects government benefits such as SSI, SNAP, Medicaid, or Section 8, reporting requirements generally apply, and the effect depends on the specific program and the person’s circumstances. The Social Security Administration, your state benefits office, or the relevant agency is the place to get an answer for your own case.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do HGTV Dream Home winners have to pay taxes on the house?

Yes. IRS Publication 525 says prizes won in a drawing or television program are included in income, and property prizes are counted at fair market value. The official HGTV sweepstakes rules also state that all taxes and fees are the winner’s responsibility.

Can you take cash instead of the HGTV Dream Home?

Yes. The HGTV Dream Home 2026 official rules give the winner the option of $750,000 by electronic funds transfer instead of taking title to the home, plus the separate $100,000 cash prize.

Has an HGTV Dream Home ever gone into foreclosure?

Yes. The 2005 home on Lake Tyler, Texas, won by Don Cruz, entered foreclosure after he fell behind on a mortgage taken out in 2006. It sold at auction in January 2008 for $1.3 million.

How many HGTV Dream Home winners keep the house?

Few. Reporting on the first 21 winners found only six — about 28 percent — lived in the home for more than a year. Recent winners have generally sold the property or taken the cash option.

Know the Rules Where You Live

Sweepstakes and prize rules change from state to state — what a sponsor can offer, how prizes are handled, and what protections you have. Pick your state to see the exact rules that apply where you live.

See Sweepstakes Laws in All 50 States →

Sources & How to Verify

The facts on this page are drawn from official government and primary sources. Rules and figures change, so always confirm the current details with the official agency or the promotion’s own published rules.

• FTC Consumer Advice: consumer.ftc.gov — prize, sweepstakes, and lottery scam guidance
• IRS: irs.gov — how prizes and winnings are treated as income
• Social Security Administration: ssa.gov — what SSI recipients must report
• The promotion’s official rules: every legitimate sweepstakes publishes them — the rules page is always the final word

Content last reviewed August 2026. If you notice outdated information, please contact us.

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Informational only — not legal, tax, or financial advice. Win Big Daily is an independent educational resource. Prize rules, tax treatment, and benefit-program requirements vary by state and program and change over time, so always verify the current details with the official agency, the promotion’s published rules, or a qualified professional before acting. If a topic involves government benefits, contact the program office about your specific situation.