The Obamas are reportedly buying the house they have been renting, which is located just around the corner from where Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner are living in Washington DC.

The former president and first lady decided to stay in Washington until their youngest daughter Sasha finishes high school. She will begin her junior year at Sidwell Friends 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 told the Chicago Sun-Times.

The Obamas have been living in a nine-bedroom, 8,200-square-foot mansion in Washington's Kalorama neighbourhood since they left the White House in January. The property was previously owned by Clinton White House press secretary Joe Lockhart, who is now the top communications official for the National Football League.

So far, the Obamas have mostly kept out of the political fray of Washington, a city populated heavily by Democrats who are still reeling from the election of Republican Donald Trump last November. The former first couple has done a lot of travelling since Mr Obama handed over the presidency to the New York billionaire.

The Kalorama area, about two miles from the White House, is also home to the ambassadors of France and Mexico as well as the current first daughter Ms Trump and son-in-law and White House adviser Mr Kushner.

Ms Trump and Mr Kushner are paying about $15,000 a month to rent their 7,000 square-foot home, which was bought by billionaire landlord Andrónico Luksic for $5.5m (£4.5m) through a shell company in December.