Mexico Fuels Havana Cuba's Real Estate 'Boom' Louis Nevaer - New America Media
go to original February 28, 2013

In late 2011, Cuba's government gave its citizens the right to buy and sell their homes for the first time since the 1959 revolution, Al Jazeera's Jesse Mesner-Hage reported. (AlJazeeraEnglish)

HAVANA — Just over a year after the Cuban government permitted the first sale of real estate between private parties, a housing boom is emerging in Havana. Fueled by an influx of foreign capital, much of it from Mexico, for Cuban exiles the boom is proving to be a major draw. It also comes amid signs that the Castro regime, which has ruled Cuba since 1959, may be nearing its end.

Since November of 2011, when the country saw its first real estate deal in half a century, there has been a sustained rise in housing prices, particularly in Havana. Asking prices have gained between 10-15 percent, while the number of properties - some boasting "ocean views" or "panoramic vistas" of the Cuban capital - coming to market keep rising.

And in a country with no formal advertising, such growth is being fueled by word of mouth – and the Internet. Two of the most popular sites are Revolico and DetrasDeLaFachada, both hosted outside Cuba and linking sellers and buyers with unexpected success.

Still, only Cuban citizens or foreigners lawfully residing in Cuba are allowed to buy or sell real estate. As a consequence, a brisk business in prestanombres, or name lenders, is emerging. The term is a reference to transactions in which a Cuban citizen acquires a property – on paper – while a contract with a foreigner, usually outside the country, establishes a separate ownership agreement.

At present, these arrangements are largely being carried out between Cuban citizens, who in January gained the right to travel abroad without an exit visa, and foreigners in Mexico, where prestanombres has a long tradition.

Read the whole story at New America Media

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