Washington, Jun 1 (IANS): Former US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle have purchased a house they were renting in Washington, D.C. for a whopping $8.1 million, the media reported.

"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 the property," Obama's spokesman, Kevin Lewis, told CNN on Wednesday.

The Obamas have said they were committed to remaining in Washington while their youngest daughter, Sasha, completes high school at Sidwell Friends School, where she is scheduled to begin her junior year in September.

However, the former first couple may have overpaid.

Property values for homes in the Kalorama neighbourhood, where the Obama house is located, have likely shot up in months, as the enclave has seen several high-profile residents move in, including President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump, whose rental is just up the block from the Obamas', reports CNN.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also lives in the neighbourhood; he purchased a $5.6 million house in February.

Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos paid $23 million in January for the largest home in D.C., a former museum.

The Obamas' landlord was Joe Lockhart, once press secretary for President Bill Clinton and a political strategist in Washington before being named executive vice president of communications for the NFL, a job that required him to move to New York with his family last year.

According to records, Lockhart purchased the house in May 2014 for $5.295 million.

The 8,200-sq.foot home, which last fall underwent upgraded security preparations in order to accommodate the former first family's arrival, is now blocked off to public access by concrete barriers, manned 24-7 by US Secret Service officers.