While the Maui real estate market, particularly the Maui oceanfront market and the Wailea real estate market,  have largely escaped the mortgage crunch hitting the mainland, the ongoing banking crisis has nonetheless dominated the financial news. What may be less clear is just how successfully those institutions are replenishing their coffers. Many major institutions have shown the ability to raise capital quickly, if not cheaply. Already over 130 billion has been raised. The latest? WaMu who will shortly be raising $5 billion from Texas Pacific Group and other investors.

TPG's effort could be viewed as an encouraging sign for the nation's ailing banking system, and Wall Street will be watching to see whether it is an indication that the worst is over.

Now we have no idea whether the worst is over. What we do know is the world's most sophisticated investors are putting massive amounts of capital into the banking system and showing extreme confidence in doing so. Again, the major issue concerning Maui real estate in regard to this topic is the overall press attitude and how it impacts the mindset of prospective buyers. We are now seeing a modest pattern of "good news" stories in the press for the first time in over a year.

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