A woman takes a picture of a colonial-style house in Havana
A woman takes a picture of a colonial-style house in Havana March 19, 2013. In November 2011, the government decreed that Cubans could buy and sell homes for the first time since the early days of the revolution, paving the way for a real estate market that has become an exercise in bare-knuckled capitalism. Havana was once considered an architectural jewel with an eclectic mix of colonial homes and modern Art Deco construction, but much of the city outside the touristy Old Havana district is in a dilapidated state after decades of neglect and corrosion from humidity and salty sea air. To match Feature CUBA-HOUSING/ REUTERS/Desmond Boylan (CUBA - Tags: SOCIETY REAL ESTATE BUSINESS)