Cuba - The Next Best Real Estate Investment For Americans?

Cuba: The Next Best Real Estate Investment For Americans?
Omri Barzilay
CONTRIBUTOR

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
It's unclear how quickly Cuba's economy will handle recent changes in
diplomacy, but many feel it might become the best real estate investment
for American entrepreneurs.

Since Fidel Castro took control of Cuba in 1959, the island nation was
essentially shut off from American interests and investment. In some
ways, Havana still exists in 1959 complete with old, dilapidated
buildings and decades-old American cars. That's all changing. For real
estate investors, the change is very welcome

The famed Paseo del Prado, the most prominent promenade in the city, is
also a location where a great deal of real estate transactions takes
place. While still in the beginning stages, the emphasis on real estate
in Cuba is growing thanks in part to the indomitable Cuban spirit and
the opportunities as perceived by the normalization of US and Cuban
relations.

Why Cuba is a Prime Real Estate Opportunity Put simply, the Cuban people
and the real estate market are ready for an infusion of US investors who
can bring new life to the Cuban economy and reinvent the real estate
market. The pieces are already in place and Raul Castro, the current
leader of Cuba, allowed his countrymen to start buying and selling real
estate in 2011 which means that the decades of Communist doctrine in
terms of private property has now changed to a capitalistic one.

Before, the citizens of Cuba were only allowed to trade property. Today,
the buying and selling of private property have created a small boom in
terms of home renovations as well as fixing up old hotel properties that
could be rented to new tourists coming in from the US and other
countries. However, most of the real estate market is still heavily
involved in renovations since constructing new buildings and homes is
still very difficult given the low wages and profits of the Cuban people.

However, that could all change if there is a large influx of American
tourists and investors into the country such as it was in the 1950s
before the Castro regime took power. While the previous Cuban government
of the old days was highly corrupt, it did allow for the construction of
many buildings and homes which still exist and are used today. The
promise is that with all the new money, Cubans will start building new
homes, hotels and other types of buildings, which would represent a real
boom to the country in general.

Source: Cuba: The Next Best Real Estate Investment For Americans? -
Forbes -
http://www.forbes.com/sites/omribarzilay/2015/09/09/cuba-the-next-best-real-estate-investment-for-americans/