How far will real estate companies go to convince us it's time to buy homes again?

Century 21 sponsored a national contest that they hoped would get the message out.

And a local family will get a new home as a result.

Kimberly Green is an emergency room nurse from Dalton who is looking to put her family in a new home.

So she entered the Path to Your Dreams sweepstakes.

The contest saw more than half a million entries online, but it was Kimberly's that took the prize.

She and her family got a trip to New York's Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Terminal.

AshantiThey met the singer Ashanti, who is the spokesperson for the contest (and plugging her new Broadway role as Dorothy in The Wiz).

Then Century 21 presented the Greens with a check for $221,000 toward the purchase of a new home.

Kimberly says "I'm so excited to get to work with our agent to see the possibilities and start searching for my family's new home."

Here is the hoopla from Monday in New York.

Century 21 created The Path to Your Dreams Sweepstakes to promote the First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit.

You can learn more on how to cash in for yourself, here.