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.
