While our housing market is experiencing major crisis, the Cuban real estate business is booming, illegally. Nearly all property in Cuba is owned by the state, however illegal black market real estate trades are becoming more prosperous and more common with their own illegal real estate agencies to facilitate them. These agents are known as runners and help the buyers and sellers navigate the complexities of residence trading in Cuba. Simple house trading is allowed, however trading up is illegal and sometimes requires the paying off of government officials. Furthermore, instead of house listings, those wishing to sell stand on the street carrying cardboard signs listing the descriptions (however false they may be) of the dwellings. I found it interesting that the sudden boom in this long standing black-market was spurred by the increasingly popular belief that change is coming soon to the country. One woman said: “It’s a good time to invest [. . .] If change comes, and we all expect it, then you’re set.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/28/world/americas/28cuba.html?pagewanted=1&ref=americas
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