Barack and Michelle Obama are now Washington homeowners.
The former president and first lady bought the nine bedroom, eight-and-a-half bathroom home in D.C.’s historic Kalorama neighborhood that they had been renting since leaving the White House in January. They closed on the $8.1 million purchase on Wednesday, according to property records.
The Obama family has said they plan to stay in D.C. at least until their youngest daughter, Sasha, finishes high school. Their oldest daughter, Malia, will head to college in the fall.
“Given that President and Mrs. Obama will be in Washington for at least another two and a half years, it made sense for them to buy a home rather than continuing to rent property,” Obama spokesman Kevin Lewis said in a statement.
The Obamas were renting the 8,200-square-foot home from former President Bill Clinton’s press secretary, Joe Lockhart, and his wife, Giovanna Gray Lockhart.
The sprawling Tudor home was built in 1928 and renovated in 2011. It includes an au pair suite, sprawling gardens, an oversized terrace, a two-car garage and a “gated motor court for 8 to 10 vehicles,” according to the property listing.
The Obamas will also hang on to their $1.5 million six bedroom, six bathroom home in Chicago’s South Side neighborhood of Kenwood ― to the chagrin of some neighbors who don’t want the home to be a tourist attraction. The forthcoming Obama Presidential Library will be built nearby.
Neighbors in the posh Kalorama neighborhood include Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos; first daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump and her husband, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner; and Dianne Bruce, the fur-draped, wine-sipping neighbor who broke new ground in the art of schadenfreude.
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