Homeowners and Renters Offered Chance to Win a Year's Mortgage or Rent Payments During Third Annual National Home Furnishings Month

LAS VEGAS, Sept. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Home owners and renters across America will be lining up starting today for their chance to win either mortgage or rent payments for one year during the Home Mortgage or Rent Sweepstakes, part of the Third Annual National Home Furnishings Month running through Sept. 30. Furnishings retailers hope families will use the savings to invest in their living spaces.

Sponsored by International Market Centers, the Is It Home Yet?™ campaign offers consumers sage advice on home decor and this year features more than 10,100 participating retail stores and brand leaders from across the U.S.

With retail stores ranging from Lamps Plus and Ashley Home Stores to El Dorado Furniture and RC Willey Home Furnishings, the Is It Home Yet?™ campaign and National Home Furnishings Month delivers special offers, coupons and promotions for consumers from participating retailers. These incentives, coupled with the Home Mortgage or Rent Sweepstakes, makes September the month to refresh your home living space.

"National Home Furnishings Month is back and this year the program is even more exciting and more encompassing than previous years," said Robert Maricich, chief executive officer of International Market Centers. "By incorporating the rent component of the sweepstakes, and increasing marketing and promotional efforts, we are confident this year's NHFM will give families a new reason to invest in their home or apartment."

As more and more time is spent at home, National Home Furnishings Month is the perfect opportunity to reflect on investing in the home. Post-Labor Day is also a time when family preparations begin for the holidays, and September is the ideal month for homeowners to focus on the many ways they can make their home a more enjoyable living space without having to spend large sums of money.

Consumers are encouraged to enter the Home Mortgage or Rent Sweepstakes either by visiting a participating NHFM retailer in their city (find a retailer now at www.homeyet.com/Find-A-Retailer) or logging on to www.homeyet.com/sweepstakes. No purchase is necessary to enter for a chance to win.  With more than 10,100 retail stores participating, families are sure to find retailers they love to include in their home decor.

In addition to the Home Mortgage or Rent Sweepstakes, the campaign's website, www.homeyet.com, features advice from top designers with home makeover tips and trend information, design quizzes to engage consumers, as well as recent woman-on-the-street interviews featuring HGTV's Monica Pedersen designed to uncover what today's consumers are seeking for their home. Exclusive access to special values, sales and events during National Home Furnishings Month at participating retailers across the country is available online as well. Consumers are also encouraged to join the conversation as fans of the Is It Home Yet?™ Facebook page where they can get trend updates and interact through special activities.

For more information, visit www.homeyet.com.

About Is it Home Yet? and National Home Furnishings Month

Launched in 2009 by World Market Center Las Vegas, a property of International Market Centers - in partnership with eight industry associations - the Is it Home Yet?™ advertising campaign and its flagship event, National Home Furnishings Month, is the first-ever industry-wide initiative that unites retailers through a month long promotion. The campaign encourages consumers to celebrate the idea of "home" and refresh their living spaces through retail store visits and new home furnishings purchases. In addition to the enter-to-win Home Mortgage or Rent Sweepstakes (which pays one lucky family's mortgage or rent for a year), the campaign's website, www.HomeYet.com, features advice from top designers with home makeover tips and trend information. Exclusive information about sales and promotions at participating retailers across the country is also available online.

Rules for 2011 Home Mortgage or Rent Sweepstakes – No purchase necessary to enter or win. Open to legal residents of the United States and D.C., who are 18 years of age or older. Void in Puerto Rico and where prohibited by law. Begins on September 1, 2011 and ends on September 30, 2011. Prize will be awarded as $24,000 cash based upon an average monthly home mortgage or rent expense of $2,000 per month for twelve (12) months. For Official Rules, go to http://www.homeyet.com/sweepstakesrules.

This all-industry marketing initiative is endorsed by National Home Furnishings Association (NHFA), Western Home Furnishings Association (WHFA), Home Furnishings Independents Associations (HFIA), Sustainable Furnishings Council (SFC), American Society of Furniture Designers (ASFD), Specialty Sleep Association (SSA), Women in the Home Industries Today (WithIt) and International Sleep Products Association (ISPA).

About International Market Centers, L.P.

International Market Centers, L.P. (IMC) is the world's largest operator of premier showroom space for the furnishings, home decor and gift industries.  The company owns and operates 11.5 million square feet of world-class exhibition space in High Point, N.C. and Las Vegas.  In addition, IMC operates the Las Vegas Design Center, a year-round resource open to both the design trade and consumers which is comprised of more than 40 showrooms and hundreds of designer brands. IMC's mission is to build and operate an innovative, sustainable, profitable and scalable platform for the furnishings, home decor and gift industries.  For more information on IMC, visit imcenters.com.

SOURCE World Market Center Las Vegas