Regarding the stable gov’t job -my husband’s company does a lot of gov’t work, and through the years, we’ve learned that good times for companies doing gov’t work (as well as gov’t employees)depend on tax revenue and gov’t regulations. In a recession, not even teachers are safe. So we all need to be careful in assuming our jobs are stable. Even if the job is stable, the actual person doing it can be voted out of his position. However, if you are really safe, then you can plan better for your future.
Someone posted a question on the forum recently: is it better to buy high at low interest rates, or wait for lower prices even though interest rates may be higher. You can scroll back through the forum to see the answers.
I saw an article in the U-T about Lennar. They posted a profit and had an increase in orders, although their orders were down 10% on the West coast. They sold some land, and made double their expected profit on the land sales. I wonder if they had to sell that land to show a profit. I picture increasing sales, each at a loss. Thus, the land had to be sold to show a profit.