Cuba Legalizes Sale of Real Estate

Viva La Revolucion de Bienes Raíces!

For the first time in more than 50 years, Cubans will be able to buy and sell private property, a month after the government of Raul Castro legalized the purchasing of cars. And while one of the most integral pillars of a communist society might have just been thrown out the window, Castro says that only citizens and permanent residents of the Caribbean island will be allowed to own property, meaning all you wealthy boomers looking for cheap sea-side real estate ought to look elsewhere, for now. Until now, the Cuban government had provided housing for the bulk of the population, and any transfer of property usually involved bartering or under-the-table payments so as to get around laws against selling real estate. Legalization of real estate is just one of a smattering of reform measures undertaken by Raul Castro after succeeding his older brother, Fidel, in 2008.