Real Estate Investments in Cuba: Back to the Future

This article reviews the development of real estate in present day Cuba with particular emphasis on residential real estate. In order to do this, we must look both to the past and to the future. In looking to the past, this article first discusses how Cuba’s foreign investment program arrived at its present state of affairs, and second, analyzes the legal framework for real estate development in Cuba, which surprisingly is partially based on pre-revolution (1959) legislation. Next, this article attempts to predict where real estate development in Cuba is going and what obstacles, such as foreign ownership claims and legal framework deficiencies, might be found along the way.