The property market in Cerro

Cerro is one of the most heterogeneous municipalities in Havana, and averaging it tells you very little. In its upper part, Ayestarán and the streets near Avenida Rancho Boyeros keep well-built houses and apartment blocks, with steady demand and prices approaching those of Diez de Octubre. At the other extreme, Las Cañas, Palatino and some areas south of the Latinoamericano stadium hold the municipality’s most deteriorated housing.

Calzada del Cerro still has its run of nineteenth-century mansions with columned porches, many of them subdivided. They are properties with character and with floor area, and they often appear on the market at strikingly low prices — almost always because they need serious intervention or because ownership is tangled.

It is a central, well-connected area with an entry price notably below its neighbours. For someone able to carry out repairs, it offers some of the best opportunities in Havana. For someone who wants to move in without building work, it takes patience to find.

The practical rule in Cerro is to compare by neighbourhood and by block, never by municipality: the differences within five hundred metres are bigger than those between other whole municipalities.

Neighbourhoods and areas

• Ayestarán
• Las Cañas
• Palatino
• Latinoamericano
• Pilar
• Cerro

What to check before buying here

• check_circleCompare block by block, not municipality by municipality: internal variation is enormous.
• check_circleIn subdivided mansions, verify the subdivision was legalised and who owns the common areas.
• check_circleThe state of roofs and floor structures in nineteenth-century buildings.
• check_circleA price far below the area almost always signals a structural or documentary problem: find out which one before negotiating.

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