The Obamas Might Be Buying a Martha’s Vineyard Home from Wyc Grousbeck

Barack and Michelle are in escrow for the Edgartown estate currently owned by the owner of the Boston Celtics, according to TMZ.

Sign up for our weekly home and property newsletter, featuring homes for sale, neighborhood happenings, and more.

Update: In the same way most of us might try on a pair of jeans before making the purchase, the Obamas decided to rent out Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck’s Martha’s Vineyard Mansion this summer before buying it outright yesterday afternoon.

According to the Duke County land records, one Wycliffe Grousbeck sold the 30-acre Edgartown estate to a trust representing the Obamas, per The Martha’s Vineyard Times, (Turkeyland Cove Nominee Trust) for $11.75 million. That’s nearly half of what the property was listed for in 2015, and even a few million less than its asking price as of August—though substantially more than the $3.15 million the Celtics holder paid for it back in ’98, according to land records.

For all those missing Obama a little extra today, here’s one piece of good news: He may be buying a place on Martha’s Vineyard, according to TMZ. And the house that they’re allegedly in contract to purchase? A beachside estate belonging to the owner of our own Boston Celtics, Wyc Grousbeck.

Though the deed is not yet done, the gossip site says the former president is in escrow for the lavish home, and it would line up with the Obama family tradition of vacationing on the Vineyard. Even more convincing? When Barack and Michelle graced the island with their presence this summer, they rented out Grousbeck’s house, the Boston Globe reported earlier this month.

The manse has been on the market since August 2015, when it was listed for a whopping $22.5 million, before plummeting to $16,250,000, according to a realtor.com article from last year. Now, it’s on the market (listed by LandVest) for $14,850,000, but, says TMZ, “the Obamas are apparently paying less.”

Is the residence fit for a former president? Well, the shingle-clad structure may not resemble the White House, but the grounds are eye-catching. The nearly 7,000-square-foot house sits on some 29 acres, near the edge of Edgartown Great Pond. There are two wings, seven bedrooms, and eight full bathrooms, including a master suite with its own “fireplace and private sundeck,” per the listing. A serene pool and beautifully landscaped patio stretch out in the backyard, and a long walkway leads to the shore of the coastal pond. And in case the Obamas are thinking of shacking up on the Vineyard all year long, there’s a hot tub on a second floor balcony, too.

Should they go through with the purchase, the Obamas will join a wave of celebrities buying and selling their homes this summer, including a Kennedy-owned property also on the Vineyard, and a former home of current president Donald Trump, a Connecticut chateau that has yet to sell despite a $15.5-million-dollar price cut.