Hurlbuthomes.com Blog

Those of you driving around South Hill lately may have been a bit perturbed to be stuck in traffic worse than usual. Well be glad that you've been stuck because getting to your little piece of Puyallup Real Estate is going to get a whole lot easier over the next couple of years.

There are a number of road projects currently under construction or slated for construction in the coming months. These are just the few I've seen, but if you have others, please do let me know and I'll post it here. Getting along on South Hill is going to get better people, I promise!

Project #1 - Canyon Road Widening For those of you that are tired of Meridian, your options to get from North to South or vice versa are going to open up very soon. A couple years ago, they widened Canyon between 152nd and 160th and again between Military and 176th. There didn't seem to be any method to that madness. Well now you can see they are widening Canyon between 112th and 152nd as well. When complete, Canyon Road will be three lanes in each direction with a turn lane down the middle. SEVEN lanes of north to south goodness to speed you along to your destination. Estimated completion is September of 2009. However, it looks like the section from 128th to 152nd will be open very shortly as it looks like they have the first layer of pavement laid. For more info: http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/pc/abtus/ourorg/pwu/crp/crp5404constr.htm

Project #2 - 94th Avenue East Widening This project is slated to begin next week. Again for those of you trying to avoid Meridian, when complete, this project is going to be AWESOME! Many of you already use 94th Ave. to go from 512 to 152nd and avoid Meridian traffic. But as you know, during rush hour, the two lane road is severely cramped and at best, marginally better than Meridian. Starting Monday they will be widening 94th to two lanes in each direction with a turn lane down the middle. This won't happen overnight people, so you may want to find an alternative for the next 12 - 18 months, but when complete, this is going to really open up north/south traffic on south hill and probably relieve a good amount of stress on Meridan. The plan is to take it from 112th to 136th and add a light at 136th. For more info: http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/pc/abtus/ourorg/pwu/crp/crp5532constr.htm

Project #3 - Shaw Road to Main Street Extension Now for me, this is going to save me 5 minutes of commuting in the morning and evening. Shaw road is another you guys use to avoid Meridian and takes you from Pioneer to Military where it turns into 122nd Ave. E. and runs all the way to 176th. It literally can take you from one side of South hill to the other. But for those of you trying to use it to get to Highway 167, you know that once you got to Pioneer, you either had to go left or right and wind your way to either 167 or 512 to really begin your morning commute. No longer! They have started the project to continue Shaw road across the valley and have it connect with Main street very near my office. So now getting to 167 will be 5 minutes faster than it is now. Every second counts! For more info: http://www.cityofpuyallup.org/page.php?id=707

Project #4 - 122nd Avenue East Realignment at 136th For those of you using Shaw Road/122nd Ave. E. you've seen this one coming for awhile now and thankfully it's almost complete. Previously coming down 122nd, there was a jog at 136th to continue on your way. Now they've realigned the road and put in a light at 136th. This project should be complete in the next couple of weeks. This will save a couple minutes off the commute and allow traffic on 122nd to flow more freely by eliminating two stop signs. For more info: http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/pc/abtus/ourorg/pwu/crp/crp5145constr.htm

Project #5 - 152nd St. E. Widening at 110th Ave. E. Again, this project is nearly complete. Basically all they are doing here is adding a stop light at 110th avenue and 152nd street and widening 152nd to accomodate turn lanes. This will really be a convenience for those of you using 110th in the morning, you'll have a much easier time getting onto 152nd.

I know the media likes to tell you that the housing market is in decline. I know you love to believe everything you see on TV and you read in the paper. But realize this, the market is One Buyer and One Seller, EVERYTIME. Are there a glut of homes on the market? Absolutely! Is it a buyer's market? You betcha! Are sellers worried that their home won't sell? Yep!

What sellers maybe don't realize today is that when their home goes on the market, especially in the spring and early summer, there are a BUNCH of home buyers out there that have not found "The One" yet and are chomping at the bit to get inside their home. Consider this exchange I had with a seller this morning (Note, this particular home went on the market yesterday):

Me: Hi, this is John Hurlbut from John L. Scott Real Estate in Puyallup. I have a client that would like to view your home this morning.
Seller: Oh! Um, this morning? Um, this morning won't work for me, how about after lunch?
Me: Oh, are we not able to view the home unless you're present?
Seller: (Somewhat embarassed tone) No, that's not it, it's just that I didn't expect anyone to call this morning, so when I left, I locked the front screen door and now you can't get to the keybox. Can you come after lunch?
Me: Sorry, my BUYER only has a limited window of time this morning and we won't be able to come by after lunch. Maybe we can set an appointment for NEXT WEEK sometime.
Seller: Oh, (sounding dejected) OK. Thanks.

Sellers, wake up! There ARE buyers out there. What are you doing to attract them? Is your home priced right? Right in this market means better than everyone else. Is it staged? I know your home has been on the market for nearly four months and you haven't had a showing in two weeks, but that does NOT give you latitude to leave your dirty underwear on the floor, the bed unmade and dirty dishes in the sink. Our marketing can only do so much. Are you inviting clients in? Or are you detering them from viewing your home? Is your screen door unlocked so the agent showing the home can get to the key box? Do you have odd showing hours and a complicated set of rules for viewing the home? No showings on the second full moon of the month, no showings on any day that happens to be the second Monday after the 29th of February?

The buyers are out there and they ARE buying homes. What are you doing to make sure they buy yours?

If you want more buyers for your home, I've got a comprehensive marketing strategy that goes to work BEFORE your home goes on the market. Let's make sure the buyers see your home OK? Call me . . . operators are standing by . . .

Many of you are familiar with the concept of an HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lane, or carpool lane, but you may have not heard of a HOT lane. Well starting Saturday May 3rd, many puget sound commuters are going to become very familiar with the term. The HOT lane is a High Occupancy Toll lane. In this blog, I touted the benefits of getting a Good to Go pass to use the new Narrows bridge. Starting Saturday, your Good to Go Pass will also allow you to travel from Auburn to Renton much quicker during rush hour.

On Highway 167 between Auburn and Renton, the HOV lanes have been converted to HOT lanes. You'll now see a double white line separating the general traffic flow from the new HOT lanes. Every so often there will be a break in the double white line. And just beyond the break, you'll see there are new devices hovering over the HOT lane. Finally, there are new digital signs just as you get to each of the break points. Here's how each of these things will impact your morning and evening commute:

• Double White Lines The first thing to note is that it is now ILLEGAL to cross over teh double white line regardless of the passenger status of your car. Single driver or carpool must stay in the HOT lane untl a break in the double white line permits exiting.
• Breaks in the Double White LineTo enter or leave the HOT lane, now you must wait for the break in the double white line. Again, crossing the double white line is now ILLEGAL.
• Devices Hovering Over HOT Lanes Now you'll see little gray devices hovering over the HOT lane. These are the readers that pick up your Good to Go pass and record your trip in the lane.
• New Digital Signs Now at every entrance point there will be a new sign that shows a toll. This is what your Good to Go account will be charged should you enter the lane at this point. After you enter the lane, there will be a reader that reads your transponder and records your trip. The tolls will vary based on time of day and traffic flow. The slower normal traffic is, the higher the toll to enter the HOT lane.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You may be thinking, what if I'm a legitimate carpool AND have a Good to Go pass? Will I be charged if I drive in the HOT lane? The answer is maybe. You have to get a "Shield" from the Good to Go folks that is placed on your windshield over your Good to Go pass so you are not charged for driving in the HOT lane. But you MUST remember to put the shield on, or you WILL be charged.

Overall, I think the HOT lanes are a good progression for traffic in the Puget Sound. However, I do see lots of potential for abuse. So expect there to be stepped up patrols on highway 167 looking for people crossing the double white line. You could simply avoid the readers by entering and exiting the HOT lanes at unspecified points and never be charged. If a police officer saw you travelling in the lane as a single drive with a Good to Go pass, he or she would simply assume you had entered correctly and been charged. THIS is why crossing the double white line is illegal. I can also see many carpools forgetting to shield their Good to Go passes and disputing their monthly Good to Go pass. I think for awhile anyway, this is going to be a big headache for the WSDOT. But for us little people, if we need to get from Puyallup to Bellevue more quickly, the HOT lane may be just the ticket!

For more information visit the HOT lane site on the WSDOT website at:
http://wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR167/HOTLanes/HowTo.htm