Video: cuba to legalize purchase of property

In Cuba, buying property is currently illegal. But President Raúl Castro has promised to lift the ban on buying real estate by the end of 2011.

This overhaul of the Cuban property system will allow residents to buy property legally for the first time in over 50 years.

At present, Cubans wanting to exchange property gather at outdoor markets, where homes are swapped, along with illegal sums of cash. Officially, all property is owned and distributed by the Cuban government. Houses are in high demand.

The shift to private ownership will add a capitalist element to the independent republic, but will also introduce new jobs and benefit houses that are in need of funds for renovation. The Seattle Times comments: “Property sales could transform Cuba more than any of the economic changes announced by President Raúl Castro.”

The new law is expected to exclude foreign buyers from investing in Cuban homes, although Cuban Americans are “routinely involved” in the current black market despite being outside of the country. They will still be allowed by the USA to transfer money to relatives in Cuba and could therefore still enter the new property market.

Watch the full video report at TheMoveChannel.tv:

http://www.themovechannel.tv/2011/08/cuba-to-lift-ban-on-buying-real-estate/