For more than a decade, former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama called a first-floor condo in Chicago home. Now, that property is back on the market for the first time since the couple sold it in 2005.
The 2,200-square-foot residence was listed for $550,000 on Sept. 11, according to a listing on CoStar’s Homes.com. It was last sold in 2005 for $450,000 to Grammy Award-winning jazz singer Kurt Elling.
The Obamas purchased the condo in the Hyde Park neighborhood in 1993. It’s where they lived when both of their daughters, Malia and Sasha, were born.
And it was their home as Barack’s political career took off. The former president served as an Illinois state senator from 1997 until 2004, when he became one of the state’s senators in Congress. The unit’s green fireplace was the backdrop for some of the couple’s most recognizable photos during that time, including Chicago Magazine’s profile of Michelle.
After Barack was appointed to his seat in Congress, the family sold the condo and moved to a mansion in the nearby Kenwood neighborhood, listing agents Maureen Murnane and India Whiteside of @properties Christie’s International Real Estate said in a Sept. 16 statement.
“History was made while the Obamas lived in this home, and the opportunity to own a piece of that history is very exciting,” Murnane said in the statement. “We’re honored to represent this storied home.”
Rare property
In addition to its history, the property’s location and size are highly desirable and attractive to potential buyers, Murnane told CoStar News in an interview. The four-bedroom, three-bathroom unit is part of a brownstone complex at 5450 S. East View Park.
“People who live in this complex stay there for a really, really long time,” Murnane said. “Properties turn over very slowly, and there are various sizes. The one that we're selling is one of the larger ones.”
Though it’s since been renovated, the condo was built in 1910, and some of its original features are still intact, including the unit’s “vintage” rooms and “beautiful, untouched woodwork,” according to Murnane. It also offers residents easy access to green spaces, and it's walkable to stores and restaurants.
Hyde Park is known for its proximity to Lake Michigan, and it’s in “high demand” among buyers, according to Homes.com. Local insiders said the area draws buyers for two reasons: its history and its quickly evolving entertainment and activity scenes.
Given that demand, after just over a week on the market, Murnane said she thinks the condo will sell quickly.
“We certainly have had people responding because it was Obama's, but that wasn't a huge wave,” she said. “The most people are people who knew of the building, either lived there or had some connection friends there, and they just wanted to be there. People love it there.”