Home sales nearing reality in Communist Cuba

(CNN): Olivia Sersute and her sister have shared the same home on the second floor of a faded Havana mansion since they were children and even after getting married and having kids of their own. They didn't have much choice. In theory, Cubans own their own homes, but they aren't allowed to sell them. "We're happy here," Sersute told CNN as she walked around the sparsely decorated apartment. "The problem is the kids. They're now in their 20s, and they want their own rooms. They want privacy." Her family has started the long and bureaucratic process of a house "swap" –­ the only legal option in Cuba for those who want to move. That is about to change. This week, Cuba's National Assembly approved a plan to enact a new law permitting the sale of real estate, which was banned after Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution.

The legislation is expected to go into effect by the end of the year as part of a major overhaul of Cuba's stagnant economy.

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