Housing
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In Havana, the purchase and sale of private property became legal just six months ago. Here's how it's changing the look of the city.
The legalization last November of the purchase and sale of private property in Cuba eroded the appeal of the once all-important permuta — the bureaucratic process of swapping supposedly equivalent dwellings, usually equalized by wads of under-the-table cash.
Although the permuta still exists, and has even been cleared of some of its red tape, few would argue for its use instead of clean and easy property sales, and frenzied reports of an emerging real estate boom in Havana evidence the fact. What’s also becoming clear is that these reforms promise to indelibly change where and how people live in a city that’s renowned for being suspended in time.