Ford (F: chart, web, Y!) is still climbing… without me.   The guy who was going to hold Ford stock for the long run because I believed in their potential, and being the best of the worst cashed in early and left 200% on the table.

I keep waiting for a pull back, and setting my purchase point just below any intraday declines.

Oh well, I suppose it’s better to wish you had bought the stock than wish you hadn’t.

I really don’t know what my strategy is on Ford any more, as it’s blown through any level I thought was a rational top.

Investing Ford

A foreclosure report from RealtyTrac.com indicates that foreclosures in the US swelled to over 800,000 in Q1 of 2009, a 24% increase from the same quarter a year prior.

To put it in perspective, one out of every 159 houses received a foreclosure notice, just in the first quarter of this year.

It’s no surprise that the hardest hit areas are Arizona, California and up the West coast, along with Florida, the entire East coast and inland to nearly the Mississippi River.  The Midwest has held up fairly well in the foreclosure department, although the highly populated areas of Texas and strangely most of Arkansas are suffering.

In my area, there are some foreclosure opportunities to be had for investment purposes, but they’re not moving.  Investors aren’t gobbling them up like I thought they would, which makes me wonder about the overall perception of the real estate market.  There’s just no appetite for risk right now.

A prospective future rental?

As for me, there’s a 3 bedroom, 1 bath single family home near my previous rental that is currently in foreclosure.  Asking price is $18,000 which would represent a third of what it would appraise for, give or take.

Unfortunately it’s located to the South of the Campus, so it violates requirement #1 of my criteria for future rental properties.

I’ll keep an eye on it, and if it doesn’t move in the next couple weeks, I’ll have to get a tour and find out why.

Real Estate foreclosures, investment property, Rental Property

I wrote yesterday about my Ford (F: chart, web, Y!) strategy; $3/share was the target while looking to capitalize on the pull back in overall market conditions on Monday.

No dice.

Ford never hit my price target, and it’s swung up by nearly $1 per share through the first two hours of trading today.

Goldman upgraded Ford this morning, noting that the company is best positioned to capitalize on the restructuring of the auto industry.  I concur, but I’m still concerned about the unintended consequences of restructured contracts in bankruptcy at GM forcing Ford’s hand to remain in line with wages and expenses.

Goldman sees a near term price target of $6/share, and I think that’s reasonable.

It’s clear, looking at the volume that many people took this opportunity to jump in.  I’ll continue to wait, although I will revise my buy target slightly as it’s clear that the major players are starting to notice Ford’s relative health compared to its competitors.

Investing F, Ford