On 1 January 1959, the Cuban Revolution succeeded and Fidel Castro assumed power. It was a day that dealt one of the most severe blows in modern history to the concept of private property and real estate.

In the immediate aftermath of the revolution, vast swathes of land, residential housing, commercial buildings, hotels, and industrial assets across Cuba were taken into state ownership. The private real estate market was effectively dismantled, foreign investments were seized, thousands of owners lost their properties overnight, and the country’s entire urban land structure came under state control.

In global real estate history, this event is regarded as both unique and unprecedented because it represents the only known case in which private ownership across an entire country was abolished in a single day. It overturned established ideas of urban planning, housing, tenancy, and land ownership. Even today, this decision continues to shape Cuba’s economy, its cities, and its investment environment.

Among the post revolution changes, the most significant was the Urban Reform Law. Passed in 1960 soon after the revolution, it introduced the policy of one family one home. Properties owned in excess of this limit were confiscated by the state. Notably, tenants were allowed to treat the rent they paid as instalments toward the value of the house, eventually becoming owners after a defined period.

Before Castro’s revolution, Havana was counted among the wealthiest cities in the world, home to some of the most expensive properties owned by the American elite. After the revolution, as owners fled the country, these grand mansions were converted into government offices or distributed among poor families. Even today, Havana’s streets are lined with decaying historic buildings that evoke that era and are often referred to internationally as Havana’s ghost mansions.

From 1959 until 2011, for nearly fifty two years, buying and selling homes in Cuba was legally prohibited. People could only exchange properties through a system known as permuta, essentially trading one house for another. A formal real estate market ceased to exist altogether.

During the Castro era, thousands of families who migrated to the United States carefully preserved the legal documents of properties taken from them in 1959. The value of these claims has since risen into the billions of dollars and remains one of the most significant obstacles in relations between Cuba and the United States.

An intriguing aspect of Cuba’s experience is that while land values elsewhere typically rise due to location, land in Cuba carried virtually no commercial value for decades because the state was the sole owner. As a result, natural urban development stagnated rather than progressed, creating long term sovereign risk and presenting the world with a socialist housing model that remains a subject of debate.

Fidel Castro stepped away from active politics in 2006 following severe illness and formally transferred power to his brother Raúl Castro in 2008. In 2011, Raúl Castro introduced major reforms to stabilise the Cuban economy, recognising that a return to limited private ownership was unavoidable. In November 2011, after more than half a century, Cuban citizens were legally permitted to buy and sell property for the first time. Previously, only property exchanges were allowed, often involving undeclared cash. This decision revived a long dormant real estate market.

Even today, Cuba maintains strict ownership limits. A Cuban citizen is permitted to own only two homes, one primary residence and one vacation property. This restriction was retained to prevent large investors or organised groups from capturing the market and pushing prices beyond the reach of ordinary citizens. Foreigners are still not allowed to directly purchase land or residential property. However, foreign investors may participate through joint ventures with the government, primarily in large hotels or luxury resorts. Ordinary residential transactions remain restricted to Cuban citizens or foreigners with permanent residency.

The reopening of the property market provided a significant boost to tourism. Many Cubans began renting rooms in their homes to visitors through Airbnb.

Today, the historic Casas Particulares, privately run guesthouses housed in Havana’s old buildings, are famous worldwide and have become a major source of income for Cuban households.

In comparing Cuba’s real estate market with those of neighbouring countries such as the Bahamas, Haiti, Jamaica, and particularly the Dominican Republic, it becomes evident that Cuba lacks a structured pricing system similar to that seen in markets like Pakistan. In Havana’s prime neighbourhoods, an old apartment may sell for fifty thousand to one hundred thousand dollars, while the average Cuban government salary, even after reforms, remains around four thousand to five thousand Cuban pesos per month. Converted into dollars, this amounts to roughly thirty five to forty five US dollars, leaving an average public sector employee with an annual cash income of no more than four hundred to five hundred and fifty dollars. By contrast, Cuba’s per capita income is often reported at nine thousand to ten thousand US dollars per year, a statistical average based on GDP that neither reflects actual household cash income nor accurately represents everyday economic reality.

This disparity indicates that Cuba’s property market is not driven by local incomes but by foreign currency inflows. In practice, it operates on a remittance based economy. Families with relatives abroad, particularly in the United States, who send dollars home are effectively the primary buyers of property in Cuba.