Barack and Michelle Obama once laid claim to the most famous address in the United States: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. But where do the Obamas live these days? The former first couple still resides in Washington, DC, though they are careful to keep a low profile, only making the occasional public appearance for the causes closest to their hearts: youth leadership, women’s rights, and health and wellness, among other things. “What I learned in those eight years is that home is where we make it,” the former first lady told Ellen DeGeneres in 2018. “And we were in the White House for eight years and it wasn’t the house—it was us in it. It was our values and our love for each other. And we just moved that to another house.” Since leaving office, the Obamas have also picked up a property in Martha’s Vineyard. Here, we’re taking a peek inside some of the places that the power couple have called home over the years.
Morningside Heights apartment
In the early ’80s, Barack transferred from Occidental College to Columbia University, where he studied political science with a specialty in international relations and English literature. While there, he lived in an apartment on the Upper West Side, just a five-minute walk from campus. The three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment was one of 39 units in a co-op building rented out to university students; in the decades since, it’s been converted into condo units. In late 2020, Barack’s particular unit made headlines when it hit the market for $1.45 million.
Park Slope pad
Following his graduation from Columbia in 1983, Barack lived for some time in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood, renting out the top level of a 1903 brownstone within walking distance to Prospect Park. The home has since been converted into a single-family residence boasting five bedrooms and three bathrooms spread across 3,860 square feet. In 2017, the Victorian-era dwelling hit the market for $4.3 million.
Hyde Park condo
Barack was famously a summer associate at a Chicago law firm in 1989 when he first met Michelle, who was assigned to be his adviser there for three months. The pair hit it off and began dating later that summer; they got engaged in 1991 and married in 1992. The following year, they purchased their first place together, a 2,200-square-foot condo that boasted four bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms. The newlyweds ended up staying there for over a decade, during which time, they welcomed their two daughters, Malia and Sasha, in 1998 and 2001, respectively. It was here that Michelle was photographed lounging in front of a green tile fireplace for Chicago magazine. They sold the first-floor condo to Grammy award-winning jazz singer Kurt Elling and his wife, Jennifer, in 2005 for an undisclosed amount; the Ellings listed the unit for $550,000 in fall 2024.
Kenwood mansion
In 2005, just as Barack’s political career was on the rise with his election into the Illinois State Senate, the Obamas paid $1.65 million for a mansion in Chicago’s Kenwood neighborhood. The 1916 Georgian Revival brick home features six bedrooms and six bathrooms spread across 6,243 square feet. The house is heavily guarded, and not much is known about the interior spaces. The Obamas still own this property, which is often visited by tourists, though it’s likely they haven’t spent much time there since Obama was elected into the White House in 2008.
Washington, DC, townhouse
Barack rented a row house in DC between 2005 and 2008, when he was a US senator, paying $1,200 a month for the 2,214-square-foot home. According to his former landlord, the apartment “was just a meager space in a convenient location,” ideal for a busy senator who likely just needed a place to sleep at night. Situated along the eastern edge of Stanton Park, the home was a short jaunt to the United States Capitol. At the time, the three-story building was divided into two units: a one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit where Barack lived, and a two-bedroom, one-and-a-half bathroom duplex above. In 2023, the whole dwelling was placed on the market for $1.279 million, eventually selling for $1 million.
Rumored Rancho Mirage vacation home
As their eight years in the White House came to an end, rumors began swirling that the Obamas picked up a vacation home just outside Palm Springs, in the desert town of Rancho Mirage. Speculation about the Obamas’ West Coast move kicked off in 2014 and stayed at a low hum, with reports of a big real estate purchase resurfacing in 2016. Though the move seemed to make sense for the Obamas—Barack loves golf, and Rancho Mirage is close to Sunnylands, the West Coast version of Camp David—their close friend and White House interior designer Michael S. Smith put the rumors to rest for good in 2017, telling The Hollywood Reporter, “It’s the real estate story that will not die.… They clearly like the desert, but they’ve never even looked for a house, and my house is certainly not for sale.”
Washington, DC, residence
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In 2017, the Obamas began renting a home in the tony DC neighborhood of Kalorama, where they were neighbors with the likes of Jeff Bezos, Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner. Several months later, the former first family quietly made their stay a little more permanent by purchasing the property for $8.1 million. (Fun fact: Most former presidents opt to move away from DC after their time in office, with the one other exception being Woodrow Wilson in 1921, and that was because he was physically ailing at that point.) A brick wall was built in front of their house for security reasons, and the garage was converted into an office. The Obamas wasted no time making their new nine-bedroom, eight-and-a-half bathroom house a home. “[Barack says he] doesn’t have enough closet space,” Michelle joked to DeGeneres about how the former president drew the short end of the stick when it came to their new digs. “[And] he’s got the smallest room for his office.” The Obama girls, on the other hand, fared rather well, especially Sasha, who designed her own two-room suite with a living space and a bedroom. This is still the family’s primary residence.
Martha’s Vineyard getaway
Two years later, the Obamas paid $11.75 million for a picturesque 6,892-square-foot mansion set on 29.3 acres on Edgartown Great Pond on Martha’s Vineyard. The shingled beach house—which the family had previously rented for the summer—includes seven bedrooms and eight-and-a-half bathrooms, with a detached garage, barn, and a pool. The interiors of the vacation home feature vaulted ceilings and a stone fireplace, with a unique circular dining room overlooking the landscaped property and the ocean. The Obamas still retain this property.
