Redfin
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Kiel Murphy doesn’t win anything. From high school raffles to the Powerball, the 32-year-old Arizona man never had any luck. He gave up on entering HGTV Dream Home giveaways years ago, but when he heard about Redfin’s Great American Home Search, he decided to throw his hat into the ring.
Redfin issued a nationwide scavenger hunt for a mystery house worth $1 million, located somewhere in the United States. The search began with the airing of the real estate website’s Super Bowl commercial on February 8. Players had 48 hours to solve a series of six prompts in the Redfin app that ultimately led to the home’s listing.
Over 275,000 people participated in the search, but Kiel found the home the fastest — right here in the Mile High City. Now, he’s moving into the million-dollar house in the Hampden South neighborhood with his wife, Meghan, and their eight-month-old daughter, Alaina.
“Sometimes dreams come true,” Kiel says. “The opportunity is everything. We’ve been so blessed with this. It’s a one-in-a-million thing.”
The nearly 3,000-square-foot renovated home has five bedrooms, four bathrooms and comes fully furnished. It sits on an 8,250-square-foot lot, providing ample yard space for the family’s two dogs, Journey and Elle, and their cat, Cash.
“You get there, and everything is all done. That to me is such a relief. I’m so grateful,” says Meghan, who works in the medical field. “I definitely cried [when I found out we won]. There were just no words. There were no words.”
Zillow
Redfin
Kiel and Meghan are originally from Ohio and currently live in El Mirage, Arizona. They had never been to Colorado before winning the house, visiting for the first time last weekend.
Their new home is located within walking distance to Rosamond Park, and just a few miles from Cherry Creek State Park and the Cherry Creek Reservoir.
“It’s beautiful,” says Kiel, who works in construction. “We have mountains here in Arizona, but nothing like Colorado. [The home] is pretty breathtaking. …It’s bigger [than our current house]. It has amazing vaulted ceilings and a nice backyard. We don’t have any grass, so we finally get to have some grass for [Alaina].”
During the scavenger hunt, players were asked to identify details from Redfin’s Super Bowl ad and use the app’s search filters to narrow down a map of houses. In the final step, players had to select the correct home from a list of around two dozen remaining properties.
Kiel took just nineteen seconds to pick the right house, explaining that he chose it because it is green, his wife’s favorite color.
Redfin’s Super Bowl commercial was titled “America Needs Neighbors Like You,” and was centered around the importance of community. A company spokesperson says they selected a Denver home for the giveaway because the city ranked among the most neighborly in the country.
“I was blown away watching people across the country dive into the search, get creative to solve clues and share what neighborliness means to them,” says Jason Aleem, Redfin’s chief of real estate services. “Thank you to everyone who participated; you showed that the American dream still resonates and is worth chasing.”
Denver’s neighborliness has already proven itself for the Murphy family. During their recent visit, they say their new neighbors welcomed them with banana bread and flowers.
“Everybody’s out and about. They’re walking, there are dogs everywhere. It felt so fun. It is so different than what we’re used to out here,” Kiel says. “I’m still wondering if I’m on The Truman Show. I don’t know just yet.”
Welcome to Denver, Murphy family! And in case I don’t see ya, good afternoon, good evening and good night.
